


Learning the Ropes

by Ononymous



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Coming of Age, Distant Finale, Gen, No humans, Pre-Undertale, until the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-12-31 06:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12126405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: As son of the King and Queen of All Monsters, Asriel always had a important role to play in the fate of the Underground, but a chance encounter meant that role was nothing like anyone expected. When such an encounter never happens, he sets on the path of becoming ready to lead, to act, and to care.





	1. Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic

Fishing around in the crayon box for the green nub he knew he still had, the fuzzy child applied it vigorously to the piece of paper. That was better, now the shooting star had a proper rainbow behind it! He wondered if he should draw a moon...

"Asriel," came a deep voice from down the hallway, "could your mother and I speak to you in... in the dining room?"

"Sure thing, Dad!"

A minute later Asriel walked into the dining room and sat at the table. His parents were already seated. They both had relaxed postures, though his mother was looking more resolute than his father about something.

"What's happening? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, my child." said Toriel. "Do you recall last week when I told you I would be suspending your lessons while we prepared to move to New Home?"

"Um, yeah."

The Royal Family had stayed in Home for almost as long as anyone, but as monsters finally braved the span of the Underground, and indeed began to cluster around the exit itself in the new city, the disrepair of their first true settlement and the empty streets meant they could no longer afford to stay, for they would become isolated from the people. It had been hard to get Asgore to agree to it, for as cramped as it had been once, it had been home for centuries. Asriel was excited about it.

"Well, when they start again, I shall only be teaching you arithmetic and literature twice a week instead of four times a week."

"Really?!" Asriel beamed with pride. "I know you said I had gone through the textbooks so quickly you were running out of them, but I didn't think you meant it!"

She laughed gently. "Of course I did, and I am pleased at your progress. However, that was not to give you more time to play."

"Aww..."

"What your mother is trying to say, son," Asgore piped up for the first time, "Is that it is time we broadened your education."

"What do you mean?"

"You see Asriel, the Dreemurr family has a duty to everyone in the Underground. From the day we were sealed in here every monster has looked to your mother and I for guidance. I think that, all things considered, we have done well. We have at least kept everyone safe."

"Yeah Dad, you're the best king ever!"

"Yes he is," chuckled Toriel, "but there will come a time where you will face this responsibility."

"Wait, do you mean...?"

"Yes, son. One day, you will be King, and you will have to lead the Underground. Once we are established among the people again, it is time we began to teach you what we know of ruling a kingdom. One day, when you are ready, you can continue to keep everyone safe."

"Really?! Oh wow!" Asriel's green eyes twinkled with excitement. "I'm really gonna be king!"

His parents smiled at his wonder.

"So after we move, I will be making time to teach you other subjects such as history and accounting and how our Kingdom works, as well as begin to teach you more advanced magic. And when you are a little older you may begin to accompany your father to learn first hand how a King deals with the people. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah. Tell me everything right now!"

Toriel raised her eyebrow. "Everything? My child, Perhaps you do not realise how much-"

"If I'm gonna be King, I gotta know everything, don't I? Why not get started right now?"

Asgore and Toriel looked at each other. Identical mischievous grins appeared on their muzzles.

"Alright, son..."

Later, Asriel couldn't really say he regretted his demand, but the nonstop flow of advice and procedure and tips meant he didn't retain very much.

"...and when Gerson talks to you about echo flowers overgrowing you can offer him tea so he'll calm down and let you get a word in..."

"...and the council can submit a petition that the King has a week to respond to, or they can issue an order on the problem, it's better to..."

"...but the Snowdin dogs aren't really mad, they're all bark and no bite. Just make sure they feel appreciated, maybe pet one or two..."

"...remember that Waterfall has a veto over changing the flow of ice through to Hotlands because of how it affects aquatic monsters..."

"...always keep spare biscuits around in case they come with Froggits, they're exceedingly fond of them..."

"...never let the taxes just end up in the royal vault, the Royal Financier has to verify every coin..."

"...as for Gerald? Well nobody really likes him, so in a pinch you can ditch him..."

"...certain facts may be kept as official secrets, but do not abuse this power..."

"...and whatever you do-"

"-it is important that you ensure-"

"-all your decisions are made with-"

"- _wisdom_."

This last word was uttered simultaneously. Asgore and Toriel smiled at each other in mild surprise. Asriel felt dizzy.

"So, my child, do you believe you are now ready to be king?"

"Uhhhh..." His cheeks felt warm. "Maybe I should take it a little slower."

His parents laughed. He joined in, accepting the joke they had played on him.

"Very well. I shall start again from the very beginning when you are ready."

"Okay! Can I go out and play?"

"Of course, Asriel. Don't forget to be back before dark. You need to get a start on packing your things."

"I won't! See you later!" He dashed towards the front door. As it opened and closed, Asgore's smile faded a little.

"Tori dear, are you sure about this?"

"You know I am, Gorey. Our clocks started ticking the moment he was born. If the worst happens, I want him to be ready."

"He's just so young, I-"

"Asgore," she squeezed his hand, "I know. That is why I am giving you time to prepare. But he has to know in the end."

"Yes. Of course, you're right..."

* * *

The impending arrival of a new stage of his life filled Asriel with boundless energy. He had decided the very first thing to do was survey the kingdom. Maybe not Hotlands, it was kinda uncomfortable. If he fell into a stream in waterfall Mom might get angry. Snowdin wasn't that bad with his fur, but he might take too long. The interview with his parents encouraged him to start small, and survey Home and The Ruins.

He knew the old capital had been crammed with practically every monster when they were first banished here, but even by the time he was born it was mostly empty. He opened his mouth in wonder at the buildings and how they were in excellent shape - monster buildings were made to last. He had overheard his Dad talking about when Home was a district by itself, but when its population became dwarfed by even the meagre crowd in the wider Ruins, the latter had subsumed it. He didn't quite get how that worked, maybe he could ask Mom when he got home.

The wider Ruins were actually cosy. There weren't many folk around, but they were just as friendly as they had ever been. There were a lot of puzzles too, but they had been switched off for ages as the fear of human attack had dwindled. All the better, it made these winding corridors more fun to run through! 

And then, a dead end.

Actually, a very live one.

He hadn't been here before. This must have been the deepest part of the Ruins. Beyond some pillars lay a patch of grass and soil in the middle of a cavern. The walls seemed to shimmer, and as he paid proper attention, he realised they were bugs and snails, having slipped past the barrier through cracks in the mountain and were now trapped like the monster. And speaking of the barrier, a shimmering field of energy acted as the ceiling to the cavern. He recognised it at once, Dad had shown him the barrier in New Home once. That wasn't the most interesting thing though. Beyond the barrier was a hole in the true ceiling, and the room above was brightly lit, almost as bright as Hotlands.

So this was Sunlight.

He looked up in wonder. He was gonna be King, and he found a cool place with grass actually bathing in sunlight. This was amazing! 

For some reason, he thought of the picture he had finished earlier, and wanted to draw under the sun. But his paper and pencils and crayons were back at the house. By the time he went and fetched them the sun would probably have set. A nearby stick gave him an idea. The cavern was mostly rocky, but near the grass lay a thin patch of topsoil. He could draw with that!

It was harder than he thought. The soil didn't want to give, and the effort meant it was harder to draw precisely. But he persevered, and before long the soil patch had a pretty brown rainbow and lots of stars, some with long trails. There was one empty part left. Well, he usually signed his pictures at home. Shortly, the words "BY ASRIEL" provided a floor for the stars.

Admiring his handywork and fiddling with his stick, he looked around the cavern again. He didn't know whether to stare at the life on the walls or the ceiling. He settled on the former for a while, trying to see how close he could get. And then one leapt onto his nose causing him to topple backwards. Laughing out loud to hide his embarrassment, he sat down by his drawings and looked up at the barrier. It was so peaceful here. After all the excitement it was really soothing... almost tiring...

A thud, more felt than heard, jerked him awake. The shade around the edge of the grass shifted somewhat. Jerking his head up so fast his ears flopped, he looked at the hole. He couldn't see anyone. 

"H-hello?"

A few rocks fell from the edge of the hole, swiftly ensnared by the barrier. A larger rock must have fallen in the cave above and knocked some aside. Leaping back, the rocks landed on the grass of the flower bed. He listened for a while, but didn't hear any more disturbances.

Feeling the rock would squish the grass, he walked over to it and, with a grunting effort, rolled it clear to make sure it could get the sunlight. Satisfied, he decided to pick up a smaller stone and see if he could break the barrier. He threw it straight up... and it bounced silently against the shimmering field and fell back down again. Oh well, it was worth a try.

It was then he noticed the light from above was darker than when he first arrived. It would be dark soon, he better cut this royal inspection short.

"I'll come back another time!" He didn't know why he said it out loud, but it made it feel like this was his special place. With a last glance, he began to run through the Ruins once more.

* * *

The move had gone without a hitch. The Royal Family had settled into their new home remarkably quickly. It helped that it was almost identical to the old home. Right now Asriel and Toriel were in the spare bedroom, which doubled as a classroom.

"...so the Underground is divided into five official districts. Um, the Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, uh, Hotlands, and New Home?"

"Yes."

"And each of these places pick two councillors-"

"Three, Asriel."

"Sorry Mom. Three councillors. And these councillors meet with Dad, I mean the King, to discuss problems in the Underground and what to do?"

"Correct."

"And to make laws, either the council or the King can propose it, but both have to agree?"

"That is right."

Asriel grinned at his cleverness. "I have a question."

"Of course, dear."

"If the King and council need to agree to do anything, why have a King at all? Can't the council decide what to do?"

"You misunderstand, Asriel. There is a difference between changing the law and the King issuing orders. Now the King cannot issue any order he likes. There are areas the council allows him to act on his own unless he needs to explain himself. It is based on trust."

"So I have to work with fifteen other people when I'm King?"

"It will be more than that, Asriel. We may have rules for how to be King, but the real thing you need to understand is-"

Knock knock. A door opened, and a Bunny Courier appeared.

"Sorry to disturb you, your Majesty, but the King is in Waterfall and the Council have sent a petition."

"Thank you, Leonard." She accepted the document in his hand, he gave a short bow and left. Scanning the document, she smiled a little and handed it to her son.

"This is opportune, Asriel. An example of the kingdom in action for you to see."

Asriel read the document. "...concern that insufficient levies to fund Site-C accomodation will hamper construction rate, recommend a budget review...?"

"And what do you think that means?"

"It... means..." He sniffed as he thought hard. "They want money... to build a house?"

"Something like that." She smiled. "It refers to the Core."

"That place in Hotland that makes electricity?"

"Yes. Site-C is to build more houses for people to live there. It was proposed a few months ago. With the energy of the core, we can make it easier for those who find Hotlands intolerable to live there, and free up space in the other parts of the Underground. In fact, if enough people move there, we could create a sixth district that would get another three councillors."

"That sounds like a good idea! So what's the problem?"

"They believe your father hasn't raised enough taxes to cover the cost of building Site-C, so they would like to discuss changing what we spend our taxes on to pay for it. In fact, I agree with them. I believe by reducing the puzzle budget we could cover the cost."

"So you write a letter saying you think we should-"

"That is the height of bad manners, Asriel. When your father returns, I shall discuss it with him, we shall agree on what we believe is necessary, and he shall attend the council in person to make the proposal."

"Why?"

"As I said before Leonard came, there are rules for the King, but the most important one is not written down: All obedience is voluntary."

"You mean they don't have to do whatever Dad says?"

"In the strictest sense, yes."

"Then why do they?"

"Because he has worked with them to gain their trust. More than their trust, their respect. A King who barks orders or sends written commands without the wisdom to understand the people he leads will have trouble getting them to follow him."

"Could... could you give orders to people if Dad was busy?"

"Oh yes. We are partners in all things. I prefer not to however."

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Because your father, despite when he misses details like tax rates, is so much better than I at bringing people onside. I could go the Council myself and make my arguments - I have done so on occasion - and they would be persuasive, but his strength is at getting people behind our policies."

"Sounds like a pretty good partnership."

"It has served us well. The best rulers need two things: An understanding of the Kingdom, and a connection to its people. By having it between us, I daresay it is our crowning achievement."

"Wow..." Full of admiration. Then a frown. "Wait, 'crowning'...?"

A snigger. Then Toriel was laughing. Asriel joined in, in spite of his urge to groan.

* * *

The week had flown by. On top of his new civics education, Toriel had him reading much more complicated books for literature than he was used to. They had to discuss a lot of words he hadn't encountered before. Kings were expected to use fancy complicated words. Not that Asgore bothered with it, but at least knowing them would be useful if the council ever used them.

And with all that to process, he now also had a full day of magic practice. Toriel had explained that Asgore was an expert in fire magic, but had never taken the time to build anything else up. Much like their political teamwork, she provided the finesse, and hoped to bequeath that to Asriel. That first day was mostly fine control of the fire magic natural to the Dreemurrs. Attempting to light a candle from twenty feet away for example. The first few attempts resulted in a puddle of wax. She also showed him how to produce light without heat. Useful in the Underground.

A lot of what he had learned was still swimming in his head. As interesting as it was, he was glad to get a break and let it all settle. And what better for than another Royal Inspection? Hmm, thinking about it, perhaps he should double check the Ruins, make absolutely sure everthing was in place

As he passed through Snowdin and the Ruins, there was a lot more "hello, Prince Asriel"s than before he had moved to New Home. He had a funny feeling his parents had ordered, or maybe just asked, that they keep an eye on him, now that it wasn't really home anymore. He hoped there weren't any at the cavern.

"Ribbit."

"Oh. Howdy, Freggie!"

"Ribbit."

"Yeah, thought I'd see the sun."

"Ribbit."

"What do you mean trembling?"

"Ribbit."

"Yesterday?"

"Croak."

"Oh..."

His heart sinking, Asriel continued regardless. He had to see for himself.

It really was a dead end this time. It looked like the cave above had suffered some sort of collapse. The rocks had completely covered his picture and most of the gress, and were stacked up to the ceiling. Even in the parts of the hole uncovered, much less light came through. The entrance to the cave from outside must have been covered up too. Only a faint beam shone down on the small unscathed patch of grass. The walls were quite still this time, whatever survivors of the disaster having fled into the Ruins.

Feeling dejected and unsure what to do, Asriel decided to try and pick up one of the larger rocks. It wouldn't budge. Dad could probably have moved it, or maybe blasted it with magic. But he wanted this place to be his. He had to take responsibility as King sometimes, it's what Mom would say. So he started moving smaller rocks not covered by larger ones. A few times larger rocks suddenly fell over and he had to leap clear. This was harder than he thought.

One of the heavier rocks closer to the main pile held a surprise. As he finally pushed it clear, something yellow caught his eye. Looking down, it was half a dozen golden flowers. He'd never seen flowers like that before. They must have been growing in the cave above and had been uprooted by the collapse. They were in surprisingly good shape for having spent a day under a rock.

Eventually, all the loose rocks had been shifted over to the darkest part of the cavern. He'd have to figure out how to get these rocks away from here entirely. But that would be for another day. For now, he had to tend to the survivors. Running to a nearby Whimsum's house, Asriel successfully issued a royal requisition ("Sure, you can borrow it.") for a flower pot. Returning to the Cavern, he carefully dug up some soil with his hands and filled the pot, before delicately planting the flowers in the way he'd seen Asgore do lots of times. Some day he'd figure out how to clear up this cavern and maybe plant them here. For now, he felt better that he had tried to help.

Disaster site successfully surveyed, he decided it was time to head back home. Dad would probably have advice for caring for the flowers. Also even doing something not about councils or magic or maths had cleared his head a little, and made him hungry for more. If he worked hard enough, he'd get to go out with Dad and see how the King helped the people directly.

* * *

Six months later, Asriel was getting a good grasp on how to help the people directly.

"Tag! You're it!"

The dog had tugged on his tail to do it, making him bleat in annoyance. He wanted to turn round and get a revenge tug, but tagbacks were against the rules, and following the rules was important. So instead he turned his sights on the slower bear and began to sprint.

Nearby, Asgore was having a conversation with his playmates' parents. It wasn't all fun, days with his Dad, but Asgore had resolved to break the semi-isolated approach to his upbringing that Toriel had subconsciously insisted on. And the best way to learn about the people was to actually be friends with them, so impromptu playdates were surprisingly common. If it were up to Asgore he may have even enrolled Asriel in one of the schools, but Toriel had put her foot down because of what he needed to learn, and Asgore knew a lost battle when he saw it.

"Thanks, Asgore. Dohj, it's time to go home!"

"Aww..."

The tail-tugger ran towards his mother, denying Asriel his eventual revenge. It also brought the game in general to a halt, as tag with two players got boring pretty quickly. The question of what to play next was quickly mooted by Asgore, who also announced it was time to head on. Slightly reluctantly, Asriel ran up to him, and they set out for Snowdin Town on their way to Waterfall.

"So Dad, what did Dohj's mom want?"

"Oh, she and Bearnard's father were concerned about the backlog of icecubes building up, there may be some sort of obstruction in the river. I said I would look into it."

"So who are you going to order, I mean ask to-"

"Nobody. I said I'd do it, therefore I will do it."

On their first outing together, Asgore had talked about leading by example, that how can anyone know you're king if they never see you taking action? From his mother's description Asriel thought it was about being nice to people so they would do it for you, but that had been a partial picture at best. Still, watching his father do these things, and helping a little with his improving magic, made him feel better about his project in the cavern. He hadn't made much progress, but he would keep at it.

Before long they had entered Waterfall. A little way in the problem was apparent. A small fleet of ice cubes was backed up in the middle of the river. Occasionally one at the front would break free and continue on its journey to Hotlands and the Core.

"Hmm, I see what they were talking about." Asgore unclipped his cloak and set it on the ground. "Fortunately the river is quite shallow here. Or rather I am quite tall."

"Dad, what are you...?"

Asgore had carefully climbed into the river. Shuddering briefly, as the nearby foatilla had seriously chilled the water, he waded over to the cubes and seemed to know what he was looking for. One mighty hand plunged into the water. Before long he gave a great pull, and a large tangle of green slimy plants emerged. Several cubes gently bumped into him as they were freed from their entanglement.

"Just as I thought. Mageweed. Someone's been using a lot of magic around here, and this stuff feeds on it. I'll need to talk to the schools about reinforcing responsible magic use. Maybe have a word with Gerson about organising a crew to keep the river here clean."

"Couldn't you ask the Council to pass a law?"

"Oh of course, but this should get it done quicker. Some things have to be enshrined in law. Others can get done if you just ask. It is important to have the wisdom to know when to use either path."

"But won't the blockage still be there until you organise that?"

"Yes it will. Which is why we're going to clear it now." Asgore waded back to the river bank.

"How?"

"I know magic practice is normally your mother's domain, but it appears you get some extra practice with me today." He clambered back out and shook himself vigorously to clear most of the water off. Then he glowed briefly red and steam rose from his fur and his clothes. Within a moment, he was dry.

"Wow, that's cool!"

"Ha ha, it's very useful indeed. If we have time I'll teach it to you. For now, let us focus on the matter at hand. Your mother has spoken to you about controlling where you send heat, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Well this is what we're going to do. Mageweed shrivels up when you heat it up too much, regardless of whether you use magic. Apply the heat correctly and it should shrivel up and flow away along with the ice cubes."

"Okay. So, uh, how do I do that?"

"You need to visualise the riverbed. It's dark and muddy, but there are lots of plants reaching up, ticking the cubes. Focus on the bed itself, where the roots are. Are you doing it?"

"I, I think so."

"Remember how you can light candles? Try projecting your magic in the same way among the river bed. I shall help you."

Father and Son raised their hands. Asriel was concentrating with all his might. Asgore was much more relaxed about it. Before long, the murky blue river appeared to have a purple-red glow deep within. Asriel kept concentrating, feeding enough magic to heat the riverbed, but trying to avoid another wax puddle incident.

It took a few minutes, but Asgore began to notice ice cubes began to drift free. Finally, the entire floatilla was on the move. Brown-green shrivelled plants were surfacing among them.

"Look, Asriel."

"At what-"

As he turned to see the cubes moving, he thoughtlessly waved his hand. A small bolt of flame shot from it and into the middle of the cubes, shattering four or five of them to pieces. He was crestfallen.

"Oh- oh no, I didn't-"

"It's alright, son." Asgore squeezed his shoulder. "I should not have broken your concentration like that. There is still enough ice to do the job. And I must say before I tripped you up, you were doing a great job. It would have taken me a fair bit longer without your help."

"Y-you mean it?"

"Absolutely! I'm very proud of you, and your mother will be too. Your control is improving. Now, we shall stop with Gerson to suggest a river maintenance group, and then I think it will be time for dinner."

They set off. A distant drip-drip-drip of water echoed through the tunnel. It was curiously relaxing.

"Dad?"

"Mmm?"

"Earlier you were talking about wisdom and knowing what to do. Mom talks about it sometimes to. The thing is, how do I get wisdom? Is there a book or something?"

"Hmm." Asgore was deep in thought. "The thing about wisdom is it comprises different things, and different people can have different kinds of wisdom. Your mother's wisdom is in checking the fine details and pushing for what she believes is necessary. Mine is in knowing when a cup of tea and a chat is better than an order. There are others we have, but these highlight our differences the most."

"But how do you-"

"Experience is the only real teacher. Live, learn, make mistakes. Pay close attention to your feelings, and eventually you can come to trust them. Don't be afraid to act, but remember this: Sometimes you will need to know when NOT to act."

Toriel had mentioned this to him a few times as well. Some situations could be resolved without the King, and stepping in where it wasn't necessary could make things more difficult. He knew his parents were right on a surface level, but at that moment he couldn't imagine standing by if someone needed pulled out of a river or something. He didn't quite get it yet.

As they approached Gerson's shop, Asriel squeezed his father's hand affectionately.

"I'll figure it out. I'll be the best king ever."

Asgore laughed. "I'm sure you will be. But more importantly than that, you shall be the best son ever."

"But you only have one son."

"Well," he chuckled, "that is no reason to slack off. For example, I believe it is your turn to clean up after dinner."

Asriel couldn't believe he walked into that one.


	2. Humanities (or Monsterities)

As the months went by, Asriel could definitely pick out the parts of his education he liked. Accompanying Asgore was definitely part of that, and not just because that meant he might get to play with Dohj and Bearnard. Toriel's lessons were still interesting for the most part, but they had the side effect of keeping him cooped up in the castle for several days at a time with only his mother, Leonard the Courier or the Royal Guards to talk to. With his father, he got a chance to stretch his legs.

And he felt he needed to stretch more often. Staying in a chair for several hours almost gave him cramps. He'd mentioned this to Toriel once, and she was delighted. Seeing the look on his confused face, she explained how needing to stretch and feeling cramped was a precursor to growing into adulthood in earnest. Soon he'd start adding on the inches, and his horns might even bud. He hadn't complained since, wondering how his horns would look, but to oblige his new urge Toriel reorganised his lessons so he got a little magic practice every day instead of all at once. This had the desired effect, and moving about more definitely took the edge off.

But nothing really took the edge off like following Asgore around. The mere act of walking helped, and the type of games he might get mixed up in helped even more. And besides, it was good to get out of the castle and see different faces, although not many of them spoke to him just yet. Not while his father was there to soak up their attention.

Today they were in Dohj's mother's house. But Dohj was at the school he and Bearnard attended. That left his mother, the King and the Prince sitting at a table. One good thing about Dohj's absence was Asriel didn't feel like he needed to look out for his tail.

"Hmm, I see your point, Rovie," said Asgore, "the path to the Ruins is important."

"Exactly, sir," she agreed, "so you'll work with the Ruins' Councillors to organise a duty to keep it clear from overgrowth?"

"Now I didn't say that."

"Asgore?"

"Did your father ever tell you about the negotiations between the Ruins and Snowdin when Home district was dissolved?"

"Yes, he said Snowdin got everything up to the end of the forest."

"And it is that part of the path you have brought my attention to. If it concerns you, shouldn't Snowdin be organising such maintenance details?"

Rovie's ears drooped.

"Come on, Asgore, you know the Snowdin budget has gone to connecting the town to the Core. We don't have enough money right now."

"Oh, you don't? Ah." He looked a little sheepish.

"What, didn't the Queen tell you?"

"Well, she did, but I, er, must have forgotten."

Asriel remembered that conversation. Perhaps because he spent so much time in his Mother's presence, but he had been able to pick up on the bulk of the Snowdin budget. Perhaps Dad had missed a fine detail. It wasn't the first time.

"And besides," continued Rovie, "it's mainly Ruins residents commuting to Waterfall or New Home who avail of it. Shouldn't they assume the burden of maintaining it?"

This suggestion allowed Asgore to rally. "Do not think like that, Rovie. All of monsterkind must help all of mosnterkind. We can ill afford leaving some on their own out of convenience."

"So I assume that when I go to the next council meeting I can petition the treasury for extra funding?"

"Oh, you're a councillor?" asked Asriel.

Both adults looked at him.

"That's right, Asriel. I'm one of the three councillors for Snowdin. I'm not the leader though, that's Clyde Drake."

"Oh." He paused a moment. "What's it like?"

"You haven't been? Well, I suppose old Woshington would throw up a fuss. He's got very old fashioned ideas about minimum age requirements. My father Feedough was pushing fifty when he got on the Council, and when it broke up for lunch Woshington asked him if it was too late for his midday nap!"

Asgore actually snorted at this. Rovie glowered at him.

"Oh, heh, sorry. Yes, Woshy's always been a firm believer in the most experienced making up the council-"

"Ha, you mean the few old farts who lived on the surface!"

"-but Toriel and I have always pushed for membership that represents every monster, not just us, ah, 'Old Farts'."

It was Asriel's turn to snort. Rovie's look at him was much kinder.

"Hey, I've got an idea," she said, "perhaps the Prince here can suggest a solution to my problem."

"Hee- I- What?!" His smile vanished.

"Hmm," thought Asgore, stroking his beard, "that may be a good idea."

Asriel suddenly felt cornered. He hadn't expected to be put on the spot like this. His ears seemed to cling to his head.

"Well, Asriel, you have listened to the problem. An important road needs looked after. The district that should do it can't afford it. How would you solve this?"

In spite of the sudden pressure, he found thinking back to Toriel's lessons was immensely helpful in calming him. Let's see: Fifteen Councillors, Royal Ministers, Finance?

"Could, could I order the Finance Minister to give extra money to Snowdin?"

"You could," said Asgore, "but the councillors from the other districts might ask for more as well. Where would the money to pay for it come from?"

"Well, I could raise taxes."

"And what if the Council decides they don't want to raise taxes?" asked Rovie.

"But it's to help people!"

The look on her face told Asriel instantly this argument would fall flat. He had to think of something else. Give the path to the Ruins? No, way too complicated and painful for such a small reason. What then? He thought of Asgore clearing the mageweed, but the path was long enough that no King could spend all his time working on it. If only everyone could...

"...work together?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, uh, I don't know how much money the Ruins has, but maybe they could afford the repairs. But giving them the road is a lot of trouble. Mom told me Lead Councillors can work on some projects together. Maybe Snowdin and the Ruins should talk about it?"

Rovie looked thoughtful.

"Hmm... maybe. I could get Clyde to have a word with Occule, set something up. Should at least keep the road open until the Council can discuss it in earnest. And what does the King think?"

Asgore scratched his horn, smiling. "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Try things. Sometimes they even work!"

"Alright. I'll try your suggestion. How mad I am at the next council meeting will let your dad know if it worked. Thank you, Prince."

Asriel was taken aback. But his shock was blunted by a small but powerful flame of pride. He felt like he contributed something powerful.

"And on that note, I believe Councillor Sherman of Hotland would like a word. Let's go, Asriel."

It was like he blew a starting whistle. Asriel bolted from his chair and dashed out the front door, as if he'd be asked to personally resolve the next dispute too. Asgore stayed in his chair. Then he reached over and pet her.

"Thanks for waiting until I could bring him along, Rovie. There's no time like the present for him to think about these duties."

"And when does he start thinking about the Final Duty?"

Asgore stiffened. "Oh, I assume Toriel brought that up? Well, maybe when he's gotten some practice with earlier duties first."

* * *

Toriel was just as proud of Asriel as he had hoped, especially for being thrown in the deep end like that. He found himself rewarded with an extra slice of pie. He went to bed hoping for more such problems to solve, it didn't seem that hard. Of course, this tempted fate. The next few times he went out with his Father, there weren't any disputes to address. And then on the fourth one, the dispute was an argument about a loophole in two laws Asriel had never heard of, so he remained steadfastly silent and was grateful Asgore didn't punt it over to him again.

Not that he didn't know any laws. With the overall structure of the Kingdom now understood, Toriel was instructing him in a mixture of history and law. The latter was about as dull as he feared. Toriel had insisted on his memorisation of all the major laws passed. For a Kingdom established centuries ago, there were surprisingly few. In a land with little contact with the outside world, there was little cultural stimulus to provoke significant reviews of the law. That being said, the amount of laws had begun to pick up in the years before his birth, as the humans began discarding more and more interesting technology for them to adapt, and this necessitated the law to keep up.

History was also something of a disappointment. Gerson had been one of Asgore's regular stops when out and about, and he always had a Sea Tea - dutifully paid for by Asgore - and an exciting story of the good old days for Asriel. Toriel's approach to history was integrated with her approach to law, using the former to explain how the latter came to be. This was about as exciting as Gerson's stories about the corns on his feet.

"...and so, after the third false alarm in four years, your Father and I proposed the Human Encounter Protocol Act of 18XX and- Asriel? Are you tired?"

Whoops. He had yawned.

"Uh, no Mom. It's just that history is, well, kinda dry."

"Dry? But I have taught you about the Waterfall Cave-in."

"Not like that, it's..." he didn't want to use the 'b' word. "...I just thought it would be more like Gerson's stories. You just about mentioned the war, but never about life before that. What was it like on the surface?"

Toriel pursed her lips, concealing her fangs from view.

"Well, I do have books from back then, my child. You are free to peruse them at your leisure."

"Oh, I do sometimes. But it's not the same. What was it like?"

She definitely looked uncomfortable.

"Asriel, I do understand that memorising these laws and their origins are dull. I am forever reminding your father of which Human Encounter Protocol Act is still in effect, and it was I who drafted the amendments to the Succession Act and Regency Charter when you were born. But you have to understand these laws."

"But that's not what I'm talking about."

She sighed. "I am trying to teach you what you shall need as King. Should you ever meet a human, their society will be completely different. Knowing how they were back then will be of little help."

"How do you know?"

"Asriel, do you know how long a human lives?"

It was a strange question. He shook his head.

"Most of them are fortunate to make it to seventy, perhaps eighty. In my entire life, I have only met a single human who reached one hundred years."

"Wow, that's not very long."

"Indeed. But their shortness of life gives them a drive for change. A town can look completely different in a mere twenty years. I do not believe Snowdin has changed significantly in two hundred."

This wasn't quite the exciting story he had hoped for, but it was interesting all the same. "Is that why we get all that stuff from Waterfall? The books and cameras and televisions?"

"Oh yes. The first camera came to the underground a mere forty years ago. And you could barely record half an hour of footage on it."

"But our camera can record fifteen hours!"

"You see? Humans develop and change so rapidly. Their society will differ as well."

"'Develop'? Really, Mom."

Toriel started chuckling. "Hee hee, I did not notice that! You are finally starting to learn the _son_ -ny side of life!"

Asriel submitted to the rest of the lesson rather than risk more puns. Learning even a little about humans was rewarding in itself as well. He gave his request no more thought until that evening, when the three of them were eating dinner.

"Gorey," said Toriel, "Asriel was asking me for stories of life on the surface today."

"Oh? Was he?"

"But I told him no. As his teacher I need to remain focused on what a King needs to learn."

Asriel wondered where she was going with this. Asgore seemed to share his puzzlement.

"However his schooling hours are done for the day. I shall be happy to tell him a story right now if he wishes."

He practically stood on his seat in excitement. "Really?! Yes, please!"

Toriel's smile broadened. Asriel missed the warning signs.

"Well, I thought the best story to tell would be how I fell in love with dear Fluffybuns here."

His excitement imploded into embarrassed horror. He wheeled around to his Father, and with dread noticed the reminiscent smile on his face.

"Oh my, that takes me back. I recall your father had come to court..."

Asriel slowly shrank under the table, feeling utterly betrayed.

* * *

"Hnnng! Come on!"

He was pushing with all his might. But that didn't seem to count for much.

"Dangit, move, you stupid rock!"

The rock wouldn't oblige. His hands feeling rough, Asriel gave up, and sat down against it. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he surveyed the day's work. Six larger rocks cleared, but the seventh had bested him. There were a bunch of smaller rocks he could probably budge, but they were all part of the pile that reached through the barrier. He knew better than to risk a cave in.

Progress had been painfully slow. It didn't help that he was kept so busy these days his time off was mostly spent unwinding, or perhaps playing with a friend or two whose parents happened to be in New Home that day. He liked those days, seeing another kid in his house was a rare treat, and his parents strove to make it seem like no big deal. Asgore's approachable air was a definite contributor to this.

Surveying the ground he had managed to clear, he felt a small pang of sorrow. Only a thin patch of grass remained bright green. The part he had just uncovered was brown and shrivelled, clearly dead. It looked just like soil. However the part he had uncovered a while ago hadn't been recovered. Perhaps with the much reduced sunlight, the grass didn't have a chance.

Nothing like his flowers. Asgore had been delighted to have something new to plant, so he and Asriel planted them in a corner of the throne room. It wasn't a particularly sunny corner compared to the center of the room, but they were thriving. In fact from the original six, another five had sprouted through the soil. Dad declared he'd never seen such a sturdy flower before. They might even grow in Snowdin. Maybe someday they'd bring some life back here.

That wouldn't be today however. Asriel knew his limits. He wasn't strong enough yet. Dad, or even Mom, could have lifted some of these rocks without pause, but he felt reluctant to ask. Despite the snail's pace of his work, he enjoyed that it was his project. Besides, even if he asked a Royal Guard or someone to help, he'd probably get scolded for wasting their time.

Deciding that would do for the day, it was time to do something else before a froggit or a loox started suggesting he head home. This didn't happen often, but he suspected his father had slipped word to the councillors to make sure he didn't wander off, and they had relayed the message. He hadn't been late yet, and he didn't intend to start today.

It must have been getting close enough to home time anyway. He could tell when a lot more people greeted him than usual, and didn't say much more when they noted the direction he was going in. Before long he had emerged into the chilly forest, which his fur did an admirable job of blunting. Word had obviously reached Rovie and the other councillors of Snowdin to similarly shepherd him home, the way he was greeted so much in the forest. He didn't think it was that late. He almost wished he was doing something else like seeing-

"Hey, Asriel!"

He blinked in surprise, and his face split into a smile. It was Bearnard and Dohj.

"Howdy guys!"

"Playing in the Ruins again," asked Dohj, "when we're right here? I thought a prince had to show manners!"

"I asked your mom earlier, she said you were at swimming lessons in Waterfall!"

"Yeah. It's a pain to go there. But Mom says the Snowdin stretch of the river is too cold to swim in. But never mind that. Let's do something!"

"I dunno, Mom doesn't like me being out late."

"Well we'll go to my house first. She can tell the King and Queen where you are so they don't worry, yeah?"

Asriel grinned. "Okay!"

And so the three of them set off. They didn't get far however, as a nice cream stand soon appeared by the road.

"Hey," asked Bearnard, "could you order them to give us free nice cream?"

"Nah, Mom and Dad give me an allowance. They always pay for everything when they're out, so I'd better do the same."

Soon the grumpy looking purple bunny had handed over three nice creams, and the boys had located a suitable log to sit down on and eat them. Eventually Dohj turned to him.

"So what do you do in the Ruins anyway?"

"Oh, well..." Asriel found himself frowning. Something didn't want him to tell about the cavern. It felt sacred, known to him alone. "...I like to explore. I mean, a whole city with hardly anyone in it. You could play hide and seek for a week and still not finish!"

Dohj shrugged. "Oh, well that's cool I guess. Not really my thing, I go straight to hanging out with someone if I can. Why don't you?"

He thought about it. "I guess I'm not used to doing that. Mom was super protective of me before we moved to New Home, I didn't get much of a chance to be alone with other kids before Dad took me with him. I'm used to spending time alone."

"Now that's a habit we'll have to break!"

"Well we're breaking it now, aren't we?" asked Bearnard.

"Yeah, but I meant something more proactive."

Asriel finished his Nice Cream. "Like what?"

"Hmm... like maybeeeeee... this!"

There was a sudden yank on his tail, and the pain shot up his spine. As he bleated in response, he also registered a pain that lingered. This time Dohj had ripped some hairs out. It really stung.

"You're it! I- wait, Asriel, you okay?"

He started to sniff. "Th-that... that hurt..." His eyes were growing watery.

"You're crying? Over a little pain? Come on, big kids don't cry!"

Bearnard perked up at this. "They don't?"

"Course not! You think a human will leave us alone if we just cry?"

"I cry." said Bearnard.

"Really? When?"

"When Miss Wolf confiscated my ball at school. And when the canteen was out of Crab Apples. And my Dad has a collection of human romance novels he got from the Garbage, and they make him cry. And didn't you cry when you were arguing with Kitty and she called you a bad-?"

"Okay, okay!" Clearly Dohj didn't want to think about that. "It's okay to cry sometimes. But you gotta deal with a little pain, right?"

Asriel sniffled a little more, then breathed deeply. "I guess... you're right."

"Sorry, Asriel."

"'sokay. I know how you can make up for it."

"Oh, cool! How?"

A white finger shot out and booped Dohj's nose.

"You're it!"

And he shot off, laughing at his daring. His surprise movement gave him a good head start as his two friends took a moment to get up and chase him. It hadn't done him much good though, as he had stayed on the road to town, and Dohj was a fast sprinter. At least he just jabbed his back this time.

"You're it!"

He tried to stop and wheel around, but slipped and fell in the snow. He heard Dohj's laugh, but didn't have time to dwell on it. Bearnard was getting ready to change course now who was it had changed, but he wasn't the sort to alter his momentum quickly. He managed it on this occasion, however, dodging Asriel's hand. Asriel got up and ready to pursue, but paused as he saw where Bearnard was running. In among the trees. Bearnard seemed to sense he wasn't being chased, and stopped.

"What's up, Asriel?"

"Um, Dad always said it's easy to get lost in there. We should stick to the road."

"Eh," said Dohj, "my mom says the same thing. Load of hooey. I go in all the time!"

"It's not the same. If my mom finds out, she'll persuade Dad to execute me!"

"Oh," said Bearnard, "well I guess if you like being it that much..."

"That's not- Come back!"

Bearnard continued into the woods. Asriel fretted, and decided to pursue. At first it was to try and make him come back to the road and head towards town. But as he got used to how the trees forced him to duck and weave, there was a thrill of excitement as he had to run in a way he hadn't before. Caution evaporated as the chase took over.

"Gotcha!"

Slapping a hand on Bearnard's broad back, he turned quickly, at least having the sense to try and head back to the road. Or at least the direction he thought the road was in.

"What the-?"

He skidded to a halt just in time. Somehow he had wound up by the river. As he turned around to call to the others to wait, he saw a brown hand outstretched to him, and he leapt aside on instinct.

And as he heard the splash, he felt like he had been dipped in ice, as if he'd fallen into the river after all.

"I- Help!"

Bearnard was thrashing wildly. The current was already pulling him away.

"Dohj, help!"

The dog arrived quickly, tail tucked between his legs as the bear drifted away. But he didn't freeze.

"There's a pier not far from here!"

The two boys weaved among the trees as they sprinted, overtaking their struggling friend. Sure enough the pier was there, but eyeing Bearnard approaching them he was too far to grab, and neither boy felt they could swim in that current.

"We have to reach him! How?!"

Asriel looked around desperately. And then he spotted it. A long, thin but sturdy looking branch of a nearby tree. Mageweed popped into his head.

"Hey, what are you-?"

His arm was pointed at the branch, and he was concentrating hard. Soon Dohj saw the snow at the point it met the trunk melt. And then flames appeared. Surprisingly quickly, the branch fell to the ground. In the cold air, the flames died quickly, but not before Dohj had seized it and brought it to the pier.

"Grab on!"

Fortunately Bearnard had stopped thrashing and heard him. Even with the long branch he almost missed, but he grabbed it. The two on shore held tight and pulled hard. It was difficult, but Asriel's experience moving rocks gave him an appreciation for keeping firm footing. Slowly Bearnard approached the pier, and was able to grab a makeshift ladder. Dohj let go and helped him onto solid ground.

"I-" he coughed and spluttered, "-thanks guys. That was close."

He started shivering. Asriel held out his hand and a ball of flame appeared in it. He hadn't quite mastered his dad's trick of instantly drying himself, let alone others.

"L-l-let's go to m-my house." Bearnard stammered. "I n-n-need dry c-clothes."

"Is, uh, your dad home?" asked Dohj. He looked nervous.

"Y-yeah."

Dohj's ears drooped. "Dammit, we're gonna get in trouble."

"I'll t-t-take trouble over f-falling d-down."

Resigned to their fate, they headed directly, if not quickly, to Bearnard's house. And sure enough his father was there, but also...

"Asriel?!"

It was Toriel. She saw the worried look on his face, and then Bearnard soaked right through and shivering, and before anyone could say a word, walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders he glowed red like Asgore once had, and soon was completely dry.

"Um, thanks, your majesty."

"What happened, son?" Asked his father.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Asriel had taken the lead. He sniffled again.

"We were playing tag, and we wound up in the woods, and then we got near the river, and Bearnard fell in. B-but Dohj and I got him out!"

Both adults looked at each other.

"Son, I think you've had enough excitement for one day. Go up to your room. I'll let you know when it's dinnertime."

Bearnard trudged upstairs.

"And I believe you should return to your mother, Dohj. Tell Rovie I said hello."

Dohj almost wanted to stay, to help Asriel deal with whatever was coming, but Toriel had framed her suggestion with too much authority to argue with. So he merely nodded, muttered a farewell, and headed out the door.

"Bearnardo, I believe I have taken up enough of your time. I shall relay your concerns to Asgore. Asriel, come with me."

He just about unrooted himself from the spot and followed her out into the street. Soon they were at another pier, where the River Person was waiting to take them to New Home. It was then that Toriel spoke to him.

"Asriel-"

"Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Please let me finish."

He forced himself quiet, She looked stern. It had been a long time since she'd looked at him like that.

"I am going to ask you a question. You will tell me the truth."

It wasn't a request. He nodded meekly.

"Who ran into the forest first?"

He looked puzzled. "Well, Bearnard. I said he shouldn't, but he kept-"

Her sternness melted into relief.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

"Yes, my child. It is selfish, but I am glad you did not instigate the incident."

"But I went along with it! He chased me to the river, if I had stayed-"

"Then yes, all three of you would be a lot happier right now. But Asriel, why did you make it seem like it was your idea?"

He hadn't expected this line of inquiry. "I dunno. I guess... they were worried about getting into trouble. I wanted to help them."

Toriel smiled. "A noble goal, Asriel. But misleading us is not the way to achieve it. As I am sure Bearnard at least has learned, actions have consequences. It is better when we face the consequences head on. As King, you shall have to worry about your own decisions, and not merely those of the people you lead."

Asriel thought for a while longer. "Does... does this mean I won't get punished?"

"Well, you were party to a mistake. But you tried to prevent it, and you were also able to help him out of the river. I think I shall call it a wash."

He sighed with relief.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have finished teaching you history. Tomorrow we start a new subject."

"Really? What?"

"Geography. You will learn about the physical qualities of the districts, and what kind of jobs and goods and services they create. I must warn you it is not as exciting as history can be."

Asriel wondered if this was how she was punishing him after all.


	3. Civics

"Please stop scratching your horns, Asriel."

"I can't help it, Mom, they're itchy!"

"Did you rub the ointment on the base last night and this morning like I said?"

"Uh, no. I forgot, sorry."

With a gentle sigh, Toriel came over and lightly patted Asriel's head. There was a moment of comforting warmth, and then it vanished, along with the itchiness.

"Now if I need to do that tomorrow, we shall be skipping dessert for the rest of this week. Please do not rely on my magic to cover for your responsibilities."

"Okay, Mom. I'm sorry."

At least the headaches had ended. The month between the first twinge and the horns finally emerging had not been fun. But the itching had preceded, accompanied and followed up the whole process, and continued to be relentless unless he stayed on top of using the cream Asgore had mixed using flowers in his garden. On the whole, Asriel was close to concluding that horns were overrated.

A year had passed since Bearnard's dip in the river. Day to day, week to week, Asriel's life felt like it hadn't changed that much, though if he actually pondered it, it had. His horns starting to grow in had just been the capstone of everything going on.

His lessons had shifted in content. There was always maths to deal with, but time spent discussing literature had dwindled. Not that books were out of his life, Toriel expected him to keep reading, just as part of independent study. She tried to trip him up with random questions about whatever book she'd assigned. He hadn't fallen that much, but the times he did weren't fun. Meanwhile, geography wasn't quite as dull as Toriel threatened, but she was still using it as a springboard to teach him more laws to remember.

Magic was always the best time. Beyond basic exercises he did each day, they hadn't worked on fire magic in a while. They had moved on to healing magic. Asriel was excited to be potentially learning something that could directly help someone, not just burn their clothes off. The only problem was he was never quite certain he was doing it right. Toriel would touch him and he'd feel a warmth or a soothing feeling and then she'd talk him through doing the same to her, and the expression on her face would signal whether he had done it right. Not like they could go and make an injury for him to practice on.

In spite of his uncertainty, Toriel remained pleased with his progress, and spoke of arranging other tutors to teach him the basics of other magic. Other monsters who specialised in them would be better suited to teach. In the meantime, they were now working on something that would either be the most important skill he had, or would be useless: Diplomacy.

With Asgore's hands on and laidback approach to approaching most situation involving monsters, there was little need to practice diplomatic speech for running the Kingdom. But Toriel insisted, for the same reasons she did not linger on unnecessary history: They would not know how humans would react should they ever cross paths again, so they must focus on putting their best foot forward.

Today, it was posture practice. "Back straight, like this. Not so rigid, you come across as nervous. That is better. Hands at the side unless you are using them. Always look at their face, but try not to stare. Do not think about breathing, allow it to come naturally, or you shall end up spluttering or coughing."

Asriel felt like he was flexing several muscles he hadn't known existed before. Toriel inspected him, then looked over his shoulder.

"Hmm, your tail is twitching. Can you keep it under control?"

"I'm trying, but it's hard when I'm thinking about everything else."

"Ah, no matter. If necessary you can wear a cloak to cover it. That is what your Father does."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. Ever since the first time he had to meet a human diplomat. But that _tail_ is for another time..."

"Ugh, really Mom?" They smiled at each other regardless.

There was a lot of practice bowing ("Always keep looking at who you are addressing, my child."), and then rehearsing standard lines of greetings ("Do not mumble your speech. E-nun-ci-ate. Ev-er-y. Word.") Soon, it was lunchtime. After some snail pie, they cleared the dishes to the sink.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Asriel?"

"Do you think I'll ever have to use diplomacy like this?"

"Hmm." A pensive look, slightly uncomfortable. "I shall be honest, I do not know. As I have said there is little use for it in running the kingdom. Most monsters would assume you think yourself better than them. But if you ever get an opportunity, it is better to be prepared."

"Do you think humans will ever want to talk to us, when they sent us here in the first place?"

This question hung in the air for a while.

"Asriel, it is easy to think of a group of people as thinking alike, but it is never the case. Even during the war, we had intelligence of humans beseeching their king to stop it. No one idea reigns forever among humans. When the time comes, I believe it is better to strive for peace. Any further blood spilt means those who died in the war, monster and human, will have died for nothing. I cannot abide that."

"Oh." He looked thoughtful for a while. "Well don't worry Mom, if I ever meet a human, I'll just say 'Howdy!' and try to be nice to them."

Asriel found himself in an unexpected hug. He hadn't been squeezed like this in a long time. When Toriel finally released him, she rubbed one of her eyes gently.

"I... I would suggest you stick to the greetings we practiced this morning." She said. "But I think you have the right of it. Now, shall we-"

_Knock knock._

"Just a moment!"

Mother and Son went to the door. It was Leonard the Courier.

"Majesty, the Core Housing Act was agreed to by the council."

"Excellent. Is that the final draft?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He handed it over.

"Hmm. Pyros. Thermia. Magmus. Larry. These are families who live in Hotlands at present, correct?"

"That's my understanding, Queen Toriel."

"Was the housing at the Core not intended for those unable to cope with the heat of Hotlands?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Then why have they been pre-cleared for moving?"

"Apparently the King noticed that the proposed boundaries of the Core District Annex included one of the two high-phosphorous volcanic vents. The Provisional Core Councillors didn't want to reopen the debate on the boundaries, and one vent would not be enough to meet demand. So he paused the meeting and went to talk to these families. the Core is happy to leave the area around the vent unchanged, and allow these families to move there and ease up the pressure."

"I see. Ha ha. That man can spot the tiniest details when it comes to how they affect people. I am ashamed I did not notice. Thank you again, Leonard."

A short bow, and Leonard left.

"You missed a detail like that? That's not like you, Mom."

"It is a lesson, Asriel. For me as much as you. There are many different ways to think about a situation, and you would do well to always think about problems from multiple angles. When I discussed the boundaries and pre-clearance lists with your father, I was thinking about the overall Kingdom. He is the one who thought of the people. As is his speciality." An affectionate smile played on her mouth.

"How can I learn to think like that?"

"It is part of the wisdom we hope you will develop as you grow up. That being said, perhaps I should give you some problems to ponder."

"Like, a math problem?"

"Ha ha, no. Although I believe you shall be able to get everything to _add_ up."

"Moooom..."

"Hee hee. Now, here is one such problem. Imagine that a ghost has wandered into somebody's house without permission..."

* * *

"...and I was about to take off my bathrobe! He'd have seen me in my bare fur! My son could have been there!"

"...oh. Um, sorry I guess. I wasn't paying attention..."

"Asgore, you can't allow creepy stuff like that to go on, it makes ghosts think they're entitled to go wherever!"

"...I can go to my quiet spot in the Ruins if you want..."

"You have to set an example, if you have him locked up..."

"Well, if it makes you feel better..."

" **Enough.** "

Asgore had done his trick. His tone of voice wasn't much different from when he greeted an old friend, but there was a force to it that made everyone pay attention. With a slight dip of the head he suddenly looked a lot scarier. It was only for a moment however, and soon his natural demeanour was restored.

"Now Bearnardo, I know this was most unpleasant and you're worried about Bearnard, but you do recall there is such a thing as an accident, yes?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Or what about the accident when you picked up Rovie's bag of groceries by mistake?"

"You're bringing that up? I apologised to her, I don't even like dog treats-"

"Exactly."

Bearnardo pawed at the ground awkwardly.

"And Napstablook, I believe we've talked about you getting lost in thought before. If you are having trouble with your feelings, you do remember your cousin is there to help you?"

"I guess. I just don't like to bother him..."

"It's not bothering Happstablook to ask for help keeping your, um, spirits up."

"Well, okay."

The ghost faded from view entirely. Bernardo sheepishly addressed the King by his name and then walked away pretty quickly.

"Asriel."

"Coming, Dad!"

In some ways Asriel was disappointed he hadn't seen Rovie and Dohj today. On the bright side, it had been kinda cool to see his dad get all serious for a moment. The rate of impromptu playdates had declined over the last year in any case. Advising on Rovie's concerns about the road had been the start. His father began to insist he listen to the people's problems more often. And he had also increased how often he asked Asriel what he thought of the situation. Hypothetical scenarios were all well and good, but it seemed like real world ones would have more value. He hadn't felt confident about a single answer yet, though once or twice he had been surprised by Asgore immediately deferring to his suggestion without any correction.

Besides, it wasn't like he didn't see them at all anymore. He still had days off from schooling and duties, and his parents practically ordered him to spend time with the other children. He'd have done it anyway, but he knew they were glad he continued to forge his bond with other monsters. And that he had friends at all, after a pretty quiet early life. Not that he wouldn't occasionally take some quiet time attending to his long term project in the cavern. The flowers were crowding their annex in the throne room, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do with them.

"So what's next today?"

"Well, unless we are waylaid by another problem, we have to speak to some ministers."

Both of them sighed. The Royal Ministries each assisted the Royal Family with one long term plan or another. At least on paper. No matter how many times Asgore told them to relax or keep it simple, most of them would go off on a tangent about needing a larger budget, and sometimes a sniping match about why does the Infrastructure Minister needs so much money just for snow? It could be a pain sometimes.

Asgore rarely travelled by river, and today was no exception. Asriel knew it was mainly so someone wouldn't get overlooked if they needed the King to resolve an argument or hold a door open. On this day however it also served as a way to put off the Ministries for a while. So they strolled through Waterfall in silence.

"Oh, there's Gerson's shop." said Asgore, changing direction. "I've been meaning to see how the mageweed situation was being handled. Howdy, Gerson!"

"Wa ha! Hello, King Fluffybuns!"

Asgore's smile froze. Asriel tried to suppress a laugh. He remembered that public address too. A benefit of it was his parents weren't quite so eager to express their love at the dinner table.

"Sea Tea, gentlemen?"

A handful of gold coins landed on the counter. "Thank you kindly, old friend."

"Yeah, thanks Mister Gerson!" They both took deep sips.

"So, just passing through, Asgore?"

"Yes, but I wanted-"

The door opened suddenly.

"Gerson, I wanted to ask you about- Oh. Your Majesty."

A squat monster had walked in on all fours. He had a green hairless face that was pretty wrinkled, and what looked like a large covered basin on his back.

"Woshington! Good to see you. I believe you know my son?"

"Uh, howdy!"

The greeting didn't have the intended effect. Woshington didn't react, but instead examined Asriel intently. It was the sort of look his mother could give, but it didn't have any of her warmth.

"'Howdy', Prince Asriel." he said stiffly. His voice had a soggy air to it. "So you are accompanying your father these days?"

"Uh, yes sir." He felt that Toriel's diplomatic speech might actually be the right move here. "Oh, but not every day. Mom teaches me too."

"Hmm." Woshington didn't sound particularly interested. "I suppose you have to start somewhere."

"Indeed," agreed Asgore, "learn by doing. Who knows, you might even see him leading council meetings before you retire, Woshy!"

"Hmm." he said again. "I hope you do not intend to retire before I do, Sire. I had always thought you would lead us forever. So good to have a steady set of hands on the reins."

"Well as Tori said, we weren't getting any older. It was time to get on with life."

"Obviously. Well, I can only hope the _young_ prince can live up to your legacy. Certainly big shoes to fill."

"But I don't wear-"

"It's a figure of speech, sire. At least the Queen understands such things. In any case, I hope when the time comes I am safe in my dotage as he tries to keep the realm clean."

"Ha!" laughed Gerson. "I doubt you're goin' anywhere until you're a pile of dust on your council seat!"

Woshington looked at him impassively. "Anyway Gerson, I wanted to ask you about the latest haul from the garbage. You know I like to earmark things for us aquatic monsters."

"An' why are you bothering an old geezer like me? Neptuna manages the day to day stuff, I just check out the really weird junk she brings me."

"Yes, well... she's competent enough, but I wouldn't say she had my complete confidence regarding her experience."

"Erm," said Asgore, "hasn't she been managing the garbage collection for fifteen years?"

"Exactly. No time at all to learn the subtleties."

"Well as you can see, I'm in an intense conversation with the King about... about..."

"Mageweed."

"That's right! So unless you wanna wait you'll have to defer to Neptuna's unsubtle assessment skills."

Woshington sighed with a gargled quaver. "Very well. I shall come back another time. Gerson. Your Majesty. Prince." He turned his back and left the shop.

"Snooty stuck-up sonuva-"

"Oh, he has his good points." said Asgore hurriedly, before turning to Asriel. "Woshy's the Lead Councillor for Waterfall, son. What did you think of him?"

Asriel wasn't sure how to answer. "I'm not sure he likes me."

"You're learning, boy!" said Gerson. "He's got no time for anyone younger than a hundred and fifty. Sees 'em all as whelps. He's been dreading the fact he'll have to make time for you when your dad snuffs it!"

"Now Gerson," Asgore cut across, "he just likes stability. After all the work we had to do when we first came down here, you can appreciate that."

"Well, I guess," he shrugged, "I remember him back then, a little squirt of a thing, terrified of his own shadow. For all them airs he picked up from a human book you wouldn't know he came crying to me after them animals wandered through the barrier and he stepped in their-"

"So," Asgore's voice had a tone of finality, "how's the mageweed cleaning coming along?"

* * *

After Gerson, the return trip to New Home was uneventful, for better or worse. The first meeting wasn't too bad however. The large reptilian Finance Minister talked about the impending surplus in the budget as construction of homes in The Core neared completion. He and Asgore agreed that a moderate tax cut would be the best approach so the other districts didn't feel resentment. He was planning to keep some of the revenue for a new project, however.

The piscine Justice Minister kept it brief, for it transpired all she wanted to discuss was the Napstablook incident, unaware that Asgore had already straightened it out, at which point she smiled in a way to show off her razor sharp teeth and got snippy about Royal overreach. 

The eternally damp Minister for Infrastructure was really tiring. As a Water Elemental, He had hoped the taxes to build the Core houses could be kept and used to extend the riverways through the Ruins, providing more drinking water and transportation. It sounded like a good idea to Asriel, but since his father had already promised to release most of the taxes, that was the official line.

"Well, that was pleasant." Said Asgore, after a parting shot from the Minister about what the Justice Minister was doing if Asgore did her job for her. "Just one more today..."

"At last!"

"The Royal Scientist."

Asriel perked up. In these ministerial conferences, he had yet to meet the Royal Scientist. Before he could say anything about it, he was walking in. Tall, almost as tall as Toriel, and remarkably thin, even for a skeleton. He had a narrow face framed by glasses, and the rest of him was covered in a tailored black suit. Only his hands offset the darkness. He surveyed the two of them with interest.

"Doctor Gaster! Welcome. I believe you know my son?"

"Of course. Good afternoon, Prince Asriel." His voice wasn't particularly friendly, but it wasn't cold or hostile either. He had thought his mother could be polite and hide her feelings in her words, but Doctor Gaster made her look like a novice.

"Hello, Doctor Gaster." After his experience with Woshington, he suspected Gaster felt similarly about 'Howdy'.

"So, Sire, you wished to speak with me?"

"Indeed, Doctor. As you may know, we will have a budget surplus once the last homes around the Core are complete. The Queen and I have discussed it, and we have agreed that part of that surplus should be given to you, in order to finance your 'Core Plus' prototype."

Strange how you could see a spark of interest in empty eye sockets, but there it was. "Ah, I am pleased you have faith in me! If this project is successful, it should benefit every monster in the Underground."

"Um, excuse me, Doctor Gaster, but can you tell please me what this Core Plus project is?"

Asgore looked in mild surprise at Asriel, but he also gave a note of being impressed.

"Why not ask your father, Young Prince?"

"Oh, well I could, but I need to learn how to talk to Ministers and other people sooner or later."

Asgore gave a smile of approval.

"That eagerness to learn. It reminds me of your mother. Very well. First, do you know how the Core functions at present?"

"I... think so." ventured Asriel. "We pump lava through a pipe, and the heat of the lava boils water into steam, and the steam is forced through pipes that spin propellers and turbines, and that generates electricity."

"A succinct summary, Asriel. It is a design that relies exclusively on laws of nature. We took this design from a human book recovered from the garbage. The electricity it generates is currently enough for our needs, but there are several inefficiencies. Inefficiencies we are uniquely suited to overcome."

"How can we overcome it?"

"With magic. The human design is clever, but energy is lost at every stage. Heat dissipates, some of the steam escapes, requiring additional water to recapture it, even the noise of the turbines is useless to us. What I have been experimenting with is turning the heat directly into magic. And then, working with monsters who can control lightning, trying to replicate that conversion of magic to electricity with a machine. If successful, the core's output could be tripled or even quadrupled, giving us more than enough energy to do all sorts of things we thought we couldn't."

"Wow, that sounds really useful!" cheered Asriel. The idea seemed to have seized him. "We could add heating and air conditioning to every house and everyone could have electricity and we could add lights through the darker parts and..."

"Ah, a font of ideas." Gaster's expression didn't change, but Asriel felt he was smiling. "I'm pleased you see the potential. However my experiments are in their very early stages. The funding we're discussing is for a working prototype. Even then it will take many years to fully upgrade the Core. Combining magic with new technology like this can be dangerous if not approached with wisdom. The last thing we want is to damage the core or hurt anyone."

"Oh, definitely," agreed Asriel, "especially when, I dunno, we might get enough power one day to break the barrier or something."

The two men looked at him.

"Ah, the optimism of youth." said Gaster wistfully. "Unfortunately the Core could not do this alone. I trust you are aware of what is required?"

"Sure. Seven human souls."

"Indeed. And by my calculations, the power of every soul Underground is approximately equal to 1.1385 human souls, and we are mostly unable to tap into that power in any case. I confess I performed some calculations on this front, and in an optimal situation a Core Plus module may provide slightly less than that. And then we run out of space and resources to build it."

"Oh. I, um, sorry."

"Not at all, Son," said Asgore, "it's natural to think about such things. Your mother would think along such lines more than I would. It's her trust that's driving this project after all. She always had a better head for this new fangled stuff. Well, Doctor, I've already discussed this with Roger to arrange the funding, so you may begin your work."

Gaster delivered the most mechanically precise bow Asriel had ever seen. "Your Majesty. Prince." And he was gone.

"If I may," said Asgore, "you were quicker on the uptake than I was."

"I was?"

"Oh yes. In fact that's the first time anyone explained how the core currently works that I feel I understand." They laughed. "You've definitely got your Mother's brains-"

"King Asgore!"

An armour-clad member of the Royal Guard had burst into the room.

"What is it, Argie?"

"The Core construction site. There's been a collapse. Some people are trapped!"

Asriel was almost knocked aside by the speed of Asgore rising to his feet and marching out the room in silence. He followed without question.

* * *

The elevator opened, and Asgore continued his steady march. Asriel borderline sprinted to keep up, taking two steps to his father's one. The commotion drew them to the site. One of the larger apartment blocks had collapsed. A small crowd was around the wreckage, trying to clear the debris away and reaching the injured. An even smaller group was nearby, three or four arguing while the Justice Minister tried to quiet them.

" ** _EVERYONE!_** "

Asgore's call cut through the chaos. Everyone not tending to casualties turned to face him, utterly silent. Authority was here.

"Sally, what happened?"

"Still trying to piece it together, sir." replied the Justice Minister. "It appears this group were having an argument about something-"

"He just wouldn't stop talking about my-"

" **Don't.** " She bared her fangs at him. "And it came to blows and an errant magical bolt crashed into the corner of that block, and it toppled in on itself."

"Alright. Sally, keep them there. The Royal Guard will arrive soon, take two of them to help you keep order. Argie, how's your blue magic?"

"Been practising."

"Alright, round up as many blue magic users in the crowd as you can. We want to start clearing away the larger parts of the building." He pointed at a final froggit. "Fred, marshal anyone not helping away from the scene. We need space to treat anyone who's hurt."

"Ribbit."

"Good point, get some in the crowd to get those blankets."

"Asgore!"

"Tori, perfect timing! Help Fred prepare a space for the wounded, then take charge of the medics. We could use your healing today."

A steely resolve flashed in her eyes. "Of course."

"What can I do, Dad?"

Asgore hesitated, but a glance brought him face to face with the same steel his wife had just shown.

"Join one of the smaller clearance teams. If anyone has a cut or scrape, you can patch that up, but leave the more serious injuries to your mother."

"Got it!"

"Right. Let's go!"

With the decisiveness Asgore had brought with him, the chaotic scene seemed much more orderly. Definitely quieter. Once the rest of the Royal Guard arrived, Asgore led them personally to the larger piles of wreckage, and coordinating with blue magic users were able to get the worst of it clear. Some of the wounded had to be carried by two guardsmen. Others could be carried in Asgore's large hands alone.

Asriel did as he was ordered, helping the smaller monsters clear wreckage. He warned them about moving the very bottom pieces, as his experience in the cavern had taught him. As the walking wounded passed, he was able to gently pat them to clear the minor cuts and scrapes. He didn't dare touch those being carried. Before long, the stream of casualties slowed to a trickle. Judging by the makeshift beds Fred and Toriel had set up, they had accounted for most of the people on the site. But not everyone.

Despite his warnings, two looxes had tugged on a piece of masonry on the floor, and this caused a small tumbling of other debris. Fortunately, it stopped before it got really started. Asriel felt like admonishing them, but he noticed the shifting wreckage had opened up a tunnel. Looking down it, he saw two figures. He looked around for his parents or a Royal Guard, but everyone was busy. He should have thought through what he did next, but there was no time. He climbed in.

Flicking a small ball of light into the cavity, he saw two whimsums lying unconscious on the floor. He couldn't carry them both out safely, and he didn't want to waste time. So once again his father's instincts to act won out over his mother's instincts to think.

He laid his hands on the first whimsum. Thinking back to what Mom had taught, he carefully channelled healing magic into the tiny body. They didn't move. Maybe he hadn't done it properly? He tried the same technique on the second body. Their eyes jerked awake.

"Where, what-?"

"It's okay, I've got you. Can you stand?"

"I think so." Asriel helped him to his feet. "My wings hurt, I don't think I can fly."

"Okay, see the light over there? Follow it out. The King and Queen are there, they'll help you."

"What about Whilbur-?"

"Let me worry about him, go!"

The Whimsun obeyed. Asriel returned to the first body. If he did it right on the second one, then maybe if he tried again...

Still no response. 

Maybe Mom could help. With care, Asriel scooped the body up in his hands, and carefully climbed through the tunnel.

"There he is!"

"Asriel, what-?"

He ignored the exclamation of his father. They could talk later. Turning his head around, he saw his mother tending to the other Whimsun.

"Mom! Mom! I've got someone else!"

She turned at his voice as he walked carefully over with the body in his hands. Eyeing only the limp figure, she hurried to meet him half way and-

But as she made to lay her hands on the tiny body, it suddenly slipped through Asriel's fingers. Fragments of it remained in his hands, while the rest became dust that landed softly on the floor. Asriel continued to look at where the whimsun had been, not noticing the dozens of eyes now bearing down on him. He was completely frozen.

* * *

Several hours later, Asriel sat upright on his bed. He was still looking at his hands. He hadn't processed much. Something about four dead and the instigators of the fight locked up and it being the first time in a long time that had happened. He hadn't quite remembered the journey back to his house, though he was pretty sure he had walked there. Did someone accompany him? He couldn't remember. Wasn't the room brighter? It had gotten dark pretty quick.

_Knock knock._

"Come in." His voice was flat. His parents obliged his acceptance, turned on the light, and sat down crosslegged on the floor before him. The silence continued for a few minutes.

"Asriel," Toriel said finally, "I just wish to say... that I am very proud of you."

"Why?"

"Why? Because today you proved you have your father's heart. He saw you take charge of that group, and how you dove into that tunnel without a second thought. You acted quickly, and because of that you saved Whilliam's life."

"But I failed."

"Asriel-"

"I should have been faster!" Tears began to flow in earnest, after waiting all afternoon for their chance. "I wasted time with that second attempt at healing Whilbur, and if I had gone straight to you he might have... might have..."

His voice was lost in sobs now. Under the careful guidance of the roughhouse games of Bearnard and Dohj, he had been crying less often. It almost felt nostalgic. Perhaps surprisingly, it was his father who scooped him up in a hug.

"Asriel," continued Toriel, "there was nothing you could have done for Whilbur. Your spell worked perfectly on Whilliam, remember? If it did not wake Whilbur, he was too far gone. Nothing I know could have helped. It was not your fault."

He continued to sob. He knew she was right, but his emotions didn't care. Her piece said, she carefully edged her way into the hug, so that both King and Queen comforted the Prince. With the patience borne of their long lives, they waited for the sobbing to subside.

"D-Dad?" he eventually forced out, "does... does it always hurt like this?"

Asgore bowed his head deeply, a few tears of his own joining his son's. "...Yes." A shuddering breath. "You are not the only one asking what else you could have done. It's not just Whilbur. Others also died. Perhaps if I had..."

A warm hand squeezed his. A second shuddering breath made Asgore's chest quiver a little.

"Son. We have spoken to you about the wisdom of when to act and when not to act. There is a third part to the wisdom of ruling."

Overbright green eyes looked up to meet his gaze, but otherwise there was silence.

"Acceptance of what has past. You will make mistakes and they will haunt you, but at least you can learn from them and do better the next time. Sometimes it's when you know you have made the right decisions, and done everything in your power, and it is still not enough, which is hardest to deal with."

More silence. Eventually, "Does it happen a lot?"

"Not too often, thankfully."

"When... when did it first happen to you?"

He hesitated. Not because he didn't know, but because he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer. Another reassuring squeeze from Toriel gave him the courage.

"...When we were sealed down here. I'm not saying every decision I made in the war was correct, but I cannot regret the strategy I pursued. Even if I regret its outcome."

Asriel dipped his head again, deep in thought. The family remained like that for a while, but before long Asriel's breathing became steady as he finally drifted to sleep. Asgore delicately broke the embrace apart, resting his son on the bed and covering his body in the fluffy blanket.

"If you don't mind Tori, I would like to move the mattress from the spare room in here and spend the night with him. Harsh lessons like today don't go down smoothly."

"Of course, dear." She gave him a small peck on his cheek. "I shall assist you."

* * *

Surprisingly, Asriel slept uninterrupted that night. The second night however had Asgore awaken twice to the sound of his son's sobbing. Toriel's latest pie, baked on the morning of the collapse, disappeared a lot faster than it normally would have.

They had given him a break from his studies, but there was one duty they could not spare him. Whilliam had invited Asriel to Whilbur's funeral in the Ruins personally. Toriel wanted to insist she attend in his stead, but to their surprise Asriel insisted he do it. Even without the accident, he recognised this was part of life. He couldn't ignore it.

Apart from spreading the dust, when Whilliam spread it round a fireplace ornament Whilbur had been fond of, the experience had actually been fun. Whilbur's friends like Whillie, Whenceslas, Whilhelm and Whilhomena told funny stories about him. There was a party afterwards and he played with the younger whimsums, except when Whilliam and someone new came and shook his hand. Everyone thanked him, both for helping Whilliam and paying his respects. At some point, maybe he'd feel like he deserved it. Dad had always stressed that the Throne wasn't all fun, but it was only today that he understood that.

Eventually the party wound down. Asriel said goodbye and turned his back on the stragglers still waving at him. He didn't turn in the direction of Snowdin however. Not yet.

His spare time to spend in the cavern had been irregular, and it had been a few weeks since he was last there. The cluster of rocks made him think of the apartments, but he forced himself to think about the cleanup rather than Whilbur. Progress had been slow here. He moved a few medium sized rocks, but his heart wasn't in it. However this had one tangible benefit. He could now see one of the stars he drew. It brought him back to the day he first came here. 

Eyeing one of the very largest rocks, and looking forward to the day he'd shift it out of the way, he turned for home.


	4. P.E. (and M.E.)

The Core Apartment Collapse had brought Asriel six months of nightmares. Not just dwelling on Whilbur, but a recurring theme of taking someone's hand to shake it and finding it crumbling to dust as he gripped. Eventually he was able to make it through the night without bothering his parents, but they immediately knew when he had troubled sleep. Fortunately they were patient, and encouraged him to talk about it. Through this, he was able to internalise the acceptance Asgore had talked about, and the dreams lessened.

A longer lasting byproduct of that day was a habit of keeping his hands out of sight when not in use. Whenever his hands did end up in his field of vision, he began to rub them together pretty fiercely, as though trying to clean something off them. This went on until Toriel heard him cry in pain one day. He had rubbed so hard he yanked out a small clump of fur from the back of his hand. Going straight to Asgore she expressed her worries, and he decided the solution was to associate his hands with something else. This was how Asriel found himself with his father at the barracks of the Royal Guard one day.

"It is time," said Asgore, "that you learn to defend yourself, and others around you."

Asriel was excited. "I'm gonna train with you?!"

"Yes, for now. Your mother has agreed your book learning shall now be three days a week. One day for visiting the kingdom with me, one day for harnessing your abilities."

"Cool!"

"I wouldn't say that," he warned, "this is an important responsibility. I am not giving you a toy to play with. If you use what I teach you to show off, I shall be very disappointed in you."

Asriel was reminded of when he stopped Bearnardo's complaint about Napstablook. There was no arguing with that tone, so he merely nodded.

"Very well. Argie?"

Argie entered the training room, wheeling a large cart. It occurred to Asriel that under all that armour he had no idea what Argie looked like, but felt it rude to ask.

"Well, son, the first thing we must do is choose your weapon."

The cart was full of different types of wooden and cloth weapons. Spears, axes, swords, daggers, maces, flails and many others.

"If you are going to fight by means other than your magic, you must figure out what is the most comfortable to wield."

Asgore took out a wooden trident and held it at the ready. Excited at jumping in at the deep end, Asriel seized a second smaller trident and held it ready.

Over the next fifteen minutes it was clear Asgore was not trying very hard, but he didn't have to. Asriel soon realised that he found holding the trident clumsy, and as his father recommended poses it was difficult to copy them. It got knocked out of his hands three times in a row.

"I appreciate the gesture, Asriel," chuckled Asgore, "but I suspect the trident is not for you. Try some other weapons."

So he did. The spear was easier for him to control, but shifting his posture was still difficult. A mace solved this problem, but as he worked through weapons, even Asriel could tell it didn't quite feel right. Twin daggers left him really agile, but he wasn't agile enough to really pose a threat with them. A large two-handed sword looked impressive, but the time it took him to swing meant his opponent was ready to block it well in advance. Finally he grabbed a saber, and with his first swing, something told him he could work with this.

After half an hour slowly practising posture and hitting his father's trident, Asriel got the idea to grab a second one to double his threat. However it roughly halved it. Daggers were small enough that you could work with them independently, but the two sabers kept hitting each other and he disarmed himself twice. Also they kept him off balance, and he fell to the floor by Asgore's clever gambit of stepping aside. It took him another hour to admit that one was enough for now, and he returned to the practice.

"Yes," said Asgore approvingly, "sabers are what you have an affinity for. Hold it out a moment."

He obeyed. To his puzzlement, Asgore put his trident back in the cart. Then there was a flash of red. Before Asriel realised what had happened, the wooden blade of his saber shattered, leaving him with a useless hilt. Looking at his father, he saw a shimmering red trident, much fiercer in appearance than the wooden one. Then it vanished.

"Now you see one advantage monsters have over humans. Disarm a human, and they are helpless. Monsters can create their weapons with magic, so we are never helpless. Throw that hilt away, you shall learn to summon your weapons."

Feeling a little embarrassed, he dropped the smouldering remains of his sword.

"Remember how it felt to wield it. You want to project magic to take its shape. Pretend you're holding it now."

As he gripped around thin air, Asriel looked at his hands. The grip broke, as his left hand started rubbing his right. A larger hand grabbed it.

"No, son. Concentrate. Think only of the weapon."

Somehow, thinking about the cavern helped clear his head. He resumed his grip, while consciously keeping his left hand rooted by his side. He could feel the magic, it would be like projecting fire, but without the heat. He closed his eyes and started pouring it into his hand.

How long it took, he wasn't sure, but finally there was a weight in his hand. Opening his eyes again, he was holding a solid white... something. It was roughly the same length as the wooden saber had been, but it was otherwise an indistinct length of magic.

"Hmm," said Asgore, and retrieved the wooden trident, "try hitting my weapon."

His weapon was lighter than it looked. Asriel raised it above his head, and swung down on the trident's shaft. There was a dull thud, and his weapon shattered and vanished.

"Not to worry, son. Refining the shape and the strength takes practice, little more. That is what we'll work on for the rest of this morning. If you like, you can practice with Argie tomorrow. Unfortunately I shall have council matters to attend to. In the meantime, focus the postures and hand gestures I have shown you."

A question occurred to him. "How... how was it when you first summoned your weapon?"

Asgore looked thoughtful. "Well, my attempt was sharper than yours," he admitted, "but I only know this because I nearly sliced your grandfather's ear off."

The two of them laughed together. Argie didn't feel like it was appropriate to join in, so he made a note to tell the other guards the next time they were all at Grillby's.

* * *

Harnessing his abilities turned out to have multiple meanings. That extra day wasn't always dedicated to weapon summoning, and Asgore expected him to practice on his own time. A few weeks later Toriel explained it was time he started learning magic beyond fire and healing, and this was something beyond her abilities to teach. She asked him to pick a type of magic to learn. So he did.

"Take a seat, Young Prince."

Asriel obliged, taking the only chair in the combination office and lab. Doctor Gaster stood before him, with that mechanical appraising air that betrayed nothing of his intentions. Asriel glanced over at the unfinished Core prototype at a lab bench.

"I confess myself surprised, Asriel," said Gaster, "when Queen Toriel approached me to request I give you tutelage in blue magic."

Asriel kept up that formal voice he adopted the first time he met Gaster. "May I ask why, Doctor? I mean, I understand there are others who could teach me, but Mom- my mother told me that skeletons are the most adept at it."

"She is not wrong, Asriel. The basics are easy to pick up for most monsters, but few can cultivate fine control like I can."

To underline his point, Gaster stretched out an arm. A schematic zoomed across the room into his bony hand, shimmering blue as it did so.

"Is, uh, is there a problem with you teaching me? Am I taking up too much of your time?"

"Oh, no, not at all. Anything to help the Dreemurrs. My surprise is that you opted to learn it at all."

Asriel raised an eyebrow, curious about the unexpected line of inquiry.

"I know we have not known each other for long, but I know of you. Indeed, the King talks at great length about you when all other business is attended to. I confess it made a nice change from when he used to speak of nothing but the Queen." Asriel chuckled a little. "The impression I gleaned from him is that you have a strong sense of wanting others to be safe. Certainly a laudable desire for a future King, but surely defensive skills such as barrier magic would suit that purpose?"

Asriel scratched his right horn. It hadn't itched in earnest in a while, but having to divulge his motives like this seemed to bring it back.

"Well you're right, barriers are useful too. And I asked Mom if I could learn both, but she said it would be better to focus on one at a time."

"And you chose blue magic first?"

"Yeah. So if... If there was a cave-in or something, and someone was trapped..."

No kindness was apparent in the Doctor's face, but something about it projected understanding.

"Ah. The accident at the apartments still troubles you."

He wanted to seize his hands and rub them. Instead he concentrated on the gestures he'd been practising for weapon summoning.

"There is no shame in it. And you are correct, blue magic is useful in such situations. Even if you do not master fine control, there are benefits to being able to lift heavy loads."

Once again he held out his hand. The prototype suddenly floated, rotated around and settled on the bench again. Open panels were now exposed, easier to work with later. 

"Now I understand your reasons, we may begin. To start, blue magic is at its most potent when it is used upon a soul. It was developed as a means of restraining people with minimal harm. It is best we begin here. I shall have you restrain yourself."

"M-myself? How?"

"You can feel your soul, yes?"

Asriel looked within himself. This was a basic exercise Toriel had drilled into him. Find his very core, for his very core was what powered his magic.

"Yes, I can feel it."

"Imagine a rope attached to it. Reach out to that rope in your mind, pretend you have seized it."

This was hard. "I think I'm doing it."

"Now you have to concentrate. When you use your magic, you have to focus on pulling the rope. I find it can be easier if you imagine the power flowing from your eyes rather than your hand. If you do it correctly, you should 'tug' on the rope in the direction you want. Try and pin yourself to the floor."

This had gone from hard to weird. "I... I'll try."

"On the count of three, cast your spell. One, two three."

_PING._

_Crash!_

Asriel was pinned to the ceiling. As was the schematic Gaster had summoned earlier. He was not phased by this.

"Hmm. An unusual failure, Prince, but one that shows your potential. Do you wish to try and release yourself, or shall I get you down?"

He opted to accept help from his teacher.

* * *

Asgore's hopes that giving his son's hands something to do had the desired effect. Before long, Asriel could look at his hands again without reacting. He would still rub them from time to time when he was under a lot of stress, but on the whole Toriel was grateful she wouldn't have to find more clumps of fur.

Asriel's time with his mother was shifting once again. The amount of time with actual books was dwindling. Now most of the time she would invent disputes, or use records of disputes that happened before he was born, and ask him how he would address them. It was a theory-based version of what happened a lot when he accompanied his father. In fact sometimes Asgore would spot somebody he wanted a word with and leave Asriel on his own to hear the problem. It was almost as if Asgore was accompanying him instead of the other way around.

After making sure to procure padded clothing, his instruction under Doctor Gaster made steady progress as well. He at least mastered the direction he wanted something to go. The problem now was velocity. The magical force that resulted in a chair remaining stationary, and the force that resulted in a chair smashing to pieces against a wall, was surprisingly slight. And anything smaller than a chair had a habit of becoming crushed as soon as he tried to move it. Toriel had been right about the need for fine control with such skills.

Fortunately, for what he had in mind, fine control was optional.

Time for himself was rarely in one unbroken block these days. It was good to get at least a few hours to himself, which he often spent in the cavern. His brute force levels of blue magic was actually more of a help than a hindrance, as rocks often smashed against the walls, making clearing them out later easier. Asriel had initially tried to move the rocks at the very top of the pile, those still beyond the barrier. However no matter how hard he visualised and focused, nothing happened, even though he'd moved things from a greater distance. It seemed the barrier's frontier was absolute. So instead he relied on pulling some of the middle rocks, so the top ones would tumble down where he could move them.

Blue magic certainly sped up the process. He moved more rocks in a year than he'd managed in the previous three. Several more stars of dirt were uncovered, as was a portion of his brown rainbow. He marvelled at how long they endured. Under a stone cover and protected from the elements by the collapsed cave above, there was precious little to upset them. Not every rock could be moved by his magic, either he wasn't powerful enough or they were firmly entrenched, but the progress was much less piecemeal. He could see the end in sight.

About the same time, he had finally conjured something that looked like the wooden saber and survived hitting something and, more importantly, being hit by something. Asgore had spoken about possibly adding stylistic flourishes to it, but that could come later. He was finally ready to spar.

"But not with me, not yet." said Asgore. "It is better you train with your peers first."

Argie, it turned out, ran self defence classes that involved a less personal approach than Asriel had received, and he was enrolled in them. To his great delight, Bearnard and Dohj had been taking these classes too.

The first thing Argie did when Asriel formally joined his class was inspect his saber. He admired its sharpness. And then demanded he produce a blunt version for sparring. To suppressed chuckles from Dohj, it took two weeks for him to figure this out, and then he was finally ready to spar. After having safety rules drilled into him.

"Never summon a sharp weapon. No magic other than your weapon. If your opponent is disarmed or falls over, the fight is over. You will obey these rules, even when you inevitably sneak out to practice against the wishes of your parents."

"What, fight unsupervised?!" said Dohj in a slightly hurt voice. "We'd never do that!"

Six months later, they did that. Advancing into adolescence meant new games began to appeal to them. They did obey Argie's rules however.

Asriel's style was interesting. Despite the natural offensive nature of his weapon, he was soon adept at parrying Dohj's twin daggers or Bearnard's large poleaxe. Dodging their strikes until they overreached and then employing a quick feint to knock their weapon clear or their feet askew. While this wasn't always successful, Argie - or the few friends they could trust to watch their extra training - admired Asriel's restraint.

In one such sparring match in the open plain outside Snowdin, both Bearnard and Dohj had joined forces to try and overpower him. This was slightly more effective than one-on-one fights, but Asriel had gotten used to their styles. Today, as usual, he made sure to give Bearnard a wide berth and weave around Dohj's low strikes, until finally he manoeuvred so Dohj was in the path of Bearnard's charge. The dog was bowled over before he knew what was going on, and by the time Bearnard halted to apologise, a swift low strike from Asriel's saber sealed the deal.

"Impressive, Son!"

His horns itched intensely at the voice. Turning around, there was Asgore and Argie approaching. Asriel seized an ear and started fiddling with it.

"Oh, uh, Dad. I thought you were in Waterfall."

"I was. But then Woshy was looking for me, so I decided to move on. Howdy, boys!"

Asriel's friends muttered overly polite greetings.

"Why so sombre? I know your mother frets about this, but I was a young monster myself once. You think Argie didn't know? I mean golly, he warned you himself, didn't he?"

"You have been following my rules, boys?"

The three of them nodded.

"Then everything's fine," said Asgore cheerily, amused at Asriel physically relaxing, "though perhaps I should do something to grant this session a bit of, um, Royal Approval. Asriel, would you like to spar with me?"

The dread that had started to break up vanished instantly. A cocky grin played on his muzzle. "You bet, Dad!"

"Good. Argie, boys, stand back please."

They obeyed. Father and Son stood ten paces apart. Asgore actually bowed, and Asriel responded in kind.

"Very well. Begin!"

Asriel recognised the red flash even as he summoned his saber. Before he could get into a proper stance it was bearing down on him. He just about leapt clear. A loud crash behind him barely registered as a nearby tree had been felled by the swipe. He was just about ready to parry the next swipe, but then the third came almost at the same time. His shins felt it make contact, the world flipped over, and his face was full of snow. By the time he got to his knees, his father stood kindly over him, hand outstretched, as if he was about to offer tea.

"Not bad for a first attempt, Asriel," he said pleasantly, as Bearnard and Dohj cheered their King on, "now, shall we go home? I fancy a cup of tea." There it was.

* * *

It was an unusually humid day. The Underground was usually cut off from the weather of the surface, free to remain cold or damp or hot, and the only real indication of what season was when monsters started shedding or moulting. But some sort of record for heat or water content or both must have been shattered, and all that water had seeped through every hole and crack in the mountain. The leaves in the Ruins became slippery. Doors in Snowdin were covered in ice. Aquatic monsters got out of the rivers and lakes of Waterfall without any discomfort. Something like fog appeared in the ceiling over Hotland, as all the water was forced to the top by the heat.

Asriel was heading home from working in the Cavern, entirely on foot as the River Person was booked solid by exhausted monsters. He'd been glad to dry off in Hotland. Crossing Waterfall on foot, he looked like he had dived into the river. The relief was short lived as he climbed into the mist near the top, as it became hard to breathe as the humidity mixed with the heat. He absently wondered what he'd look like if he shaved off his fur.

"Hey, Prince Asriel!"

Two figures approached him out of the mist. A rather frayed looking pyrope, and a surly looking lizard.

"Oh, howdy Greg. Hey there, Eddy."

"Where's your dad? We need a ruling."

Asriel twitched a little as Greg's flaming head made him even more uncomfortable. "I think he's talking with Ministers right now."

"Dammit, this can't wait!" yelled Eddy. "You rule for us then!"

"I- really?"

"You're a Prince, ain't ya? Make the call!"

Despite his discomfort, the embers of his ego had been stoked. "Okay, gentlemen. What's the problem?"

" _I_ this _was_ guy _house_ stole broke _give back_ -"

"Hey, hey! One at a time. Greg?"

Steam seemed to rise from his head. "I was in my house, trying to stay dry. And there's a crashing noise. I go to investigate, and this newt is rummaging through my books after breaking down my door!"

"And this ragged shepherd's knot is leading with that because he doesn't wanna tell you he stole my book about humans and lizards!"

"I told, you, I didn't-"

"Yeah, well I saw-"

"Wait, wait, please!" cried Asriel. The two reluctantly halted. "Eddy, why do you think Greg did it?"

"I told him about it yesterday, and I left it on my table. When I saw it was gone, I looked out the window, and I saw him hurrying away."

"That wasn't me! I've been in my house all day. How do you know it wasn't another pyrope in this mist?"

"Bah! Who else could it be?"

Asriel racked his brains about what his mother taught him as they continued sniping at each other. Okay, criminal procedure, accusation of a crime, how to deal with witness testimony. But who did it? Their arguing wasn't helping. It was too hot to think, but he had to decide.

"Okay," he said, trying to muster some authority, "Eddy, that's not enough proof that it was Greg that took the book. Has the book even been stolen?"

"You calling me a liar?"

"No! I'm just saying you're jumping to conclusions. Look, if you get any evidence, take it to Sally or Councillor Sherman. That's, um, my final decision. Excuse me."

Both plaintiff and respondent looked rather sullen, but Asriel was just glad to get away. The air in New Home was just as muggy as everywhere else, but at least he felt like he could breathe again. He stopped at a nice cream parlour to help him cool down properly after the sweltering Hotland, and lingered there a while, enjoying the slightly dryer air. And then he headed for home. The flowers outside were thriving at least, Dad didn't even have to water them.

"I'm home!"

No response. It was early for dinner, maybe he'd go to his room and draw something, it had been a while-

" **Asriel Dreemurr.** "

"Oh, howdy M-"

The greeting died in his throat at the look on her face. Her gaze was piercing.

"In here. _Sit._ "

He obeyed automatically. He noticed the bulky cordless phone in her hand, which she promptly hung up.

"Explain."

"Explain... what?" He looked around. "Where's Dad?"

"Your father is currently in Hotland, trying to work out why the Flamesman family house burned down."

"Really? That's awful-"

"And from what he has just told me, there was a fight between Edward Herpy and Gregory Reefburn, and a stray bolt of flame hit their house."

The icy feeling in his stomach would have been welcome half an hour ago.

"And from what _they_ told _him_ , they received less than satisfactory counsel in a dispute they had, which is why their argument became a fight. So, Asriel. **Explain.** "

Utterly wrongfooted, he recounted the story of being asked to settle the argument.

"So I said Eddy didn't have enough proof, and that was the end of it. Or, I thought it was."

"And what became of the book?"

"I don't know. Look, I told them to go to Sally or Mrs Sherman if they had issues with my decision."

"Perhaps you should have said that from the outset." said Toriel coldly. "So what do you think really happened?"

"I told you, I don't know what-"

"Precisely. Making a 'final decision' when you have no idea what happened. The 'final decisions' of the Dreemurrs carry real weight, Asriel. How did they react?"

"Well they didn't look happy, if that's what you mean."

"And that unhappiness caused a house to burn down! Nobody was hurt this time, unlike the apartments, but if you had-"

Her resolve wavered at the sudden look on his face. He was thinking of the apartments. He had just caused a similar accident. His hands found each other and started rubbing.

"Stop. Please, stop that, Asriel!" She grabbed one hand, and sighed. "I... I am sorry. I had no intention of bringing that up, but..."

"I didn't know... I didn't think... I was hot and I wanted to get it done..."

"Son, please listen. Hands on the table." With a great effort, he planted them there. "It is true, that you could not predict this outcome. Nevertheless, you made a decision without considering the outcome at all. If you felt you did not understand all the parts of their dispute, you would have been better insisting they seek someone else to resolve it entirely."

"But, but they needed a decision! I've never seen Dad just say 'I don't know'."

"Really? He has never said he would have to consult with someone? Or that he would get back to them? Or turned to _someone_ in his presence and asked what _they_ thought about it?"

There was another dull blow in his stomach. "Oh..."

"You see? A King must be decisive, yes, but he has to have the tools to make a decision. There is no shame in deferring until he has them. Remember, there is wisdom in knowing when _not_ to act."

They sat like that for a while, Asriel letting the consequences of his actions swirl around in his head despite his best efforts, and Toriel letting two conflicting emotions take turns on her face. Eventually, the front door opened and closed, and Asgore entered the room.

"What news, Gorey?"

"Well, I learned a few creative new curses," he chuckled, "Greg and Eddy are in the cells for now. A couple of weeks should do it, at least until the Flamesman house is rebuilt. Oh, and I found Eddy's book, it was under his coffee table the whole time."

This did nothing to lift Asriel's spirits.

"I never thought. I never bothered. If I offered to look, they might not have fought. I just thought about the ruling they wanted, and I even made a mess of that."

Asgore joined his wife and son at the table. "Son, the problem with these rulings you are demanded to make, is that the grievances they present are rarely what is really troubling them. Those two have always argued, you know that yourself. Even if you resolved this dispute, something else would have, erm, blown up."

Toriel frowned. "Asgore, do not try to deflect the issue! He has shown poor judgement today, regardless of those involved."

"I did not mean to absolve him, Tori. Son, what I'm trying to say is you have to think beneath the surface of a dispute. Even if one side appears in the right, you have to make sure there isn't something deeper going on."

Asriel merely nodded. "Do I have to develop my wisdom by screwing up like this all the time? I don't want others to get hurt just so I can be a good king."

"Oh, of course not!" said Toriel, warming to him for the first time since he entered the house. "We have been imparting our wisdom, and you have been partaking of it. I can tell. I am disappointed yes, but is not because you made a mistake. It is because that on this occasion avoiding that mistake should have been easy."

She rested her hands on his. It made him feel a little better. Asgore clapped his hands together.

"Well, how about some dinner? Toriel, I can cook the snails if you like-"

"One moment, dear. I have to tell Asriel that his lessons will be suspended for a few weeks."

This came out of nowhere. "Really? Why?!"

"Because you will be busy. You will join the crew that rebuilds the Flamesman house and help them. You will make things right for those hurt by your rash decision. And no magic, unless the foreman tells you to."

In spite of the guilt he felt, an impulse of defiance took hold. "What?! Come on, you said yourself I couldn't have predicted the outcome of what I did!"

"Indeed," she smiled a little, "and perhaps this unexpected outcome shall encourage you to think a little more about outcomes in the future."

"Oh, don't look so down, Son. Never hurts to do a bit of manual labour sometimes. I believe it _build_ character."

Toriel started giggling, and Asgore returned in kind. Asriel just groaned. Not him too.

* * *

Apart from being cut off from his friends and not allowed to go anywhere but the construction site, the punishment hadn't been that bad. The responsibility he felt for causing it still gnawed at him, and his parents seemed to understand that. It helped that Whilliam, still active in construction, was part of the crew, and the two made an unusual team as Asriel would fetch a brick or a screw or some nails and Whilliam would slot them into place in the spots larger monsters couldn't reach. Asriel wasn't just a gopher however, he was laying bricks too. Somewhat sloppily at first, but the foreman took the time to teach him to do it properly, and he paid rapt attention. Within a fortnight the house was finished, slightly larger than it had been before. Asriel had taken the initiative to recommend adding a few extra rooms to help make up for his mistake. There was a limit to what they could do, as space was limited, but Mister Flamesman shook his hand in gratitude, Asriel trying to keep the flaming hand from setting his fur alight.

And then his regular life resumed. His sparring, both with and without Argie present, was going well. Even with Dohj and Bearnard combining forces regularly he still beat them more than they beat him. He felt so good about this he privately asked his father for another fight. Asgore had agreed, and ten minutes later Asriel was face down on the training mat, if anything faster than before. This was going to take a while.

As useful as the unsubtle big picture form of blue magic had been in the Cavern, he didn't neglect the fine control Doctor Gaster showed effortlessly. There did seem to be a ceiling to his abilities however. He could grab books and large cups easily, but no matter how careful he was, pencils would snap in two and sheets of paper would crumple into a ball. After a month of practice beyond reaching this point, Gaster had concluded Asriel was at the limits of what he could do. He hadn't been harsh or critical, but his words had no warmth either. In any case, their lessons were at an end. To cheer him up, Toriel demonstrated he at least had better control than her, by crushing a cup he had grabbed without issue.

Not that this gave him extra free time. He still wanted to protect his fellow monsters. That meant learning something defensive. That meant learning barrier magic. And that meant...

"Hi there, Asriel."

He sad crosslegged in a large empty cave in Waterfall. Sally the Justice Minister sat across from him. The floor was surprisingly flat. It reminded him of the training room in the barracks.

"You know, you made the right call putting it off and not learning this stuff straight away."

"Why, is it hard?"

"Nah! It's just if you learn defence first, you rely on that all the time. And if you only defend, that means you just lose more slowly. Gotta learn how to fight, dontcha?"

"But what about protecting others?"

"Did I say defence was dumb? Don't worry, it has its uses. Besides, another advantage to waiting is weapon summoning and barrier magic have similar principles. Learning one makes the other easier."

He smiled at this. "So maybe I'll not be at this too long?"

"Never said that, Prince. So, any questions before we begin?"

A stray thought crossed his path. "Hey, you know the guys behind, you know, the Core Apartments? Whatever happened to them-"

She raised a clawed finger to stop him. "Up-bup-bup! We don't talk shop during training. Wait until your dad lets you talk in Ministry Meetings."

"Oh, okay. Let's start then."

"Atta boy! Now, barriers and weapons are similar in theory. It's just a question of shape and range. Ideally you shouldn't have to touch a barrier you make, and can make it as far away or as large as you want. So, learn by doing, I say. Make a barrier, now!"

"Huh? How?"

"Try making a really stretched version of your weapon pop up in front of you."

Doctor Gaster's instruction had been odd at times, but at least it was detailed. Sally wanted results before she even told him how to do anything. Okay then. Taking a few breaths, closing his eyes and finding his core, he thought about his weapon. But he didn't think about it in his hand. It was jabbed into the ground three feet away. And it was taller than him. And wider. With these parameters set, he began channelling magic to it. Like the first time he summoned his saber, it took a long time, but then something told him he was finished. His opened his eyes.

"Hey, I did it!"

A translucent sheet stuck out of the ground. A flourish at the top sort of looked like a sword hilt.

"Cool. Not bad for a newbie. _HYAGH!_ "

A light blue staff had flashed into Sally's hands and struck out immediately. The sheet shattered on contact, Asriel felt a jab in his stomach, and before he realised what was happening he was lying on his back.

"Buhuhuhu! It's gonna take more than **that!** "

From his few encounters of her with his father present, Asriel had always taken Sally to be formal, stern, no time for nonsense. The last was certainly true, but the first two were a mask. As it transpired, when not talking shop she wasn't afraid to cut loose. It was like he was sparring with his friends and practising with Gaster at the same time.

It really was good he had put this off.


	5. Advanced Government and Politics

As Asriel struggled with barrier magic, he actually stopped training with his friends outside Argie's class. Sally's high intensity style was more than enough of a workout. He couldn't put everything off however. There were still things to learn, and it was time he applied his skills in the wider Underground.

Toriel continued giving him cases to solve, but one change was she would not allow him to think on the matter too long. As he had learned the hard way, Asriel had to get used to thinking on his feet. He got more wrong answers at first, but Toriel was patient about this as he focused on gathering all the facts as fast as possible. In addition she would also occasionally have refresher courses on Diplomacy, so should the need ever arise he'd be ready. Asriel had all the different forms of communication and presentation memorised, and his posture was excellent. His tail still twitched however. The book learning of his youth was for the most part complete, except that he now joined Toriel reading books recovered from Waterfall, both to assess their use, and a way of spending time with her.

Meanwhile, it felt like accompanying his father was becoming more like his father accompanying him. Asgore would be more direct about who they were meeting and why, and when they got there, he seemed to open the conversation less often, banking on Asriel doing it instead, and Asriel would have to talk to whoever was there, and then he'd ask Asgore what he thought, the reverse of how it had been. 

Asriel was also more likely to speak in meetings with Ministers as well. It was still mostly to ask questions, which the Minister would answer, but like out in the Kingdom he was growing the confidence to make suggestions of his own. One curious facet is whenever it was Sally, both she and Asgore seemed to be evasive about the apartments, as if he couldn't handle it. That was a minor irritant.

Even his days off were becoming increasingly busy. There had always been someone asking him to take a note to his parents, but now it was more likely they'd ask him to help out with something. Not with important matters of statecraft, he might carry some groceries for them, or grab something off a roof, or keep an eye on some kids, or admonish a gang of dogs for taking 'liberties' with the river. Okay, there was a bit of statecraft. He had learned, again the hard way, that it was okay to punt if he felt clueless about something, but soon he felt confident enough to make decisions on his own, though he always immediately reported them to his parents. There were more mistakes and he had to apologise once or twice, but more often than not he could defend his actions, even if Asgore or Toriel would helpfully modify them now and then. Time for himself was rarely in one unbroken block. Not that he resented it, his parents had spoken of the satisfaction of helping those they led, and he felt like he was starting to get that feeling too.

As he grew more familiar with the monsters in government, he came to realise while everyone showed the Dreemurrs official respect, that didn't mean there weren't tensions. For New Home, Snowdin and the Ruins there really weren't tensions. Much of his minuscule free time was in one of these places so he was a familiar face, and through Whilliam he was practically an honourary whimsum. The Hotland Councillors were somewhat indifferent to him. They'd hear him out, but they wouldn't do him any favours. The Core Councillors were insecure, having only been fully ratified a few months ago after the apartment collapse, and were nervous about how to build a rapport and thus didn't seem to try. But it was Waterfall who were, not hostile hostile exactly, but impatient and uncharitable. Many of the oldest monsters were aquatic and had naturally grouped together there, and Woshington's impatience for the young held some sway over those who represented them. Also they had availed of the Core's insecurities and were swaying them to see things from Waterfall's viewpoint. Although as the oldest Core councillor was in her mid sixties, Waterfall's own biases limited this overture.

And soon, it was time to deal with all of them at once.

* * *

"Thank you for your demonstration, Doctor Gaster."

The stoic skeleton bowed precisely, took the cart upon which his prototype lay and wheeled it from the Council Chamber. The Council, including all three Dreemurrs, had been treated to a demonstration whereby a small flame bolt, conjured by the Queen at Gaster's suggestion, had been absorbed by the device, powering a lightbulb and a television.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," began Toriel, "I hope that you were all as impressed with this demonstration as I was. I believe that if we apply this technology to the Core, the energy we could harness would offer a great benefit to the Underground."

Interested discussion took place. Asriel watched with equal interest. He had attended council meetings before, but this was his first time where Asgore had explicitly vested him with permission to speak. Unlike the Royal Ministry, the snootier councillors could get annoyed when someone piped up with a question. Asriel wasn't sure whether he had proven himself, or whether the fact he had to get pillows like his father's to accommodate his horns' attempt to flee his skull had nudged him into it. For now though, it was Toriel's show. Or rather, it was Woshington's, as he stood up.

"Queen Toriel," he gargled, "I am indeed impressed. If the Royal Scientist's projections are accurate, an upgraded Core would provide enough energy to meet our needs four or five times over, and would be a remarkable piece of monster engineering."

The opening statement was full of respect. However something about his 'if' guaranteed a 'but' was not too far behind.

"But," sure enough, "I'd like some questions answered. What is the projected construction time?"

Toriel extracted her spectacles from a pocket, delicately donned them and looked at the project overview. "If we build the facility as a single entity, it would be approximately ten to twelve years. If we take a phased approach, we could have one section up and running within two to three years, and its energy would speed up the construction of the rest, meaning it would be complete after eight years in total."

"And how much, Majesty, would this cost?"

"I believe the King and the Royal Financier have already offered a detailed-"

"Please remind us."

Frowning slightly, Toriel consulted a second document. "Without any other alterations in the budget, we project a twelve percent tax levy for five years could fully finance the project."

"And we have arrived at my problem, Majesty. The people of Waterfall have already had to endure taxes to allow for the full incorporation of the Core District. Not that it wasn't a worthwhile goal," he looked at the three Core Councillors, who looked back gratefully, "but to ask them to sacrifice so much, so soon after the last time, makes me query the value of this pipe dream."

The Hotland Councillors nodded thoughtfully. Asgore leaned forward in his chair.

"I don't understand, Woshington. This project has the potential to improve the lives of every monster here."

"Of course, sire. It is a question, then, of diminishing returns. I have studied the kingdom's use of the Core as it presently stands. My understanding is the Core currently operates at sixty percent of maximum safe capacity. This figure has barely risen in ten years. Do we really suddenly need five times that much power?"

"Well when you put it in raw figures it sure looks that way," mused Asgore, "but I think you're missing the personal factor. Demand has stagnated because our population has also stagnated."

Snowdin, Hotland and New Home murmured with interest. Woshington kept a steady face.

"You know how hard it was to establish stable food supplies when we first came down here." he continued. "I think we've done a great job so far. But I've spoken to people. Few of us have large families. The barrier aside, you know we've had to balance the food production carefully. There is plenty for all right now, but..." He dipped his head slightly, thinking about monsters that never were.

"I appreciate the balancing act, Asgore." Said the loox that served as the Ruins' lead Councillor. "But what does electricity have to do with food?"

"Um, excuse me, Councillor Occule?"

Everyone turned to face Asriel. He kept a stoic face, though under the table he lightly rubbed his hands.

"It's just, I've been helping with sorting the books recovered from the garbage heap a while back, and one of the books we tagged for sending to Doctor Gaster was a book about human farming methods, and they've come up with very cool- um, interesting techniques to grow all sorts of food without the sun. Shining the right kind of light on it acts like the sun. You could even grow it without soil. I think they called it hydraponics? Well anyway, if we have a lot of surplus energy, couldn't we grow more food?"

Ocule looked interested, and Asriel made a note to ask Gaster if he could borrow or copy the book later. Woshington was unmoved.

"Do we really want to rely on human hand-me-downs? Isn't that beneath our dignity? It's practically filthy!"

"Oh come on, Woshy," said Asgore jovially, stroking his golden beard. ", the Core is based on human designs right now. It's not fair to ask us to pick and choose the advantages we can get from them."

"And returning to your original point," added Toriel, "electricity usage has also remained steady because we had previously left parts of the Underground unpowered for fear of overtaxing the Core. With a surplus we could invest in infrastructure once more. Our proposed budget even includes laying new power cables as part of it. It would allow us to reclaim parts of the Underground, like Home. Who knows, it may be possible to have enough population growth that Home be reborn as a new district."

Ruins and Snowdin looked interested in this, as a new District between them could potentially mean more allies on the council. Woshington saw this too, and was much less enthusiastic about the prospect. In fact it was the root of all his concerns. Ratifying the Core Annex had been hard enough, but at least then he had the consolation of councillors who looked to Waterfall for advice. It was unlikely he could repeat the trick.

"Yes, well, Home was always a bit... dry for some of us." Asriel caught his eyes darting over to the Core Councillors for a split second. And right on cue, the lead stood up.

"Excuse me, your Majesties," said the nervous cat, "I w-would like to ask what happens to the existing Core while the project is going on? Will we have to shut it down? You know that would be catastrophic for most of the Core's population."

"Don't worry, Hamburg." reassured Asgore. "Incidentally, if I may make a personal tangent, how is your wife?"

"Leggsy? Oh, she's d-doing great."

"Wonderful! I always thought you'd make a nice couple. Anyway, when Gaster designed the first Core, he made it, um, what was the word again?"

"Modular, Asgore."

"Thank you, Toriel. And this means you can flick a switch and move from one generator to the other instantly. There should be little disruption."

Most of the councillors looked enthusiastic about this. Woshington wasn't. He had played a card that hadn't panned out. Time for the trump card.

"I have one final concern, sire. And I regret it is the most serious. According to Doctor Gaster's reports, his Magical Core design requires much more active heat regulation than the existing model during construction, correct?"

"Well, yes, that was how I understood it."

"And how do you propose to provide the cooling for this?"

"Well, I thought we could ask Snowdin to increase their production of ice in the river-"

The trap was sprung. "I'm sorry, Asgore. We've had to endure the river growing colder during the initial Core construction project, and I believe we are at our limits."

"Really? I asked around Waterfall when the Queen brought this up, and the impression I got was they wouldn't mind-"

"I believe as their representative on the Council, I'm in a better position to make such a judgement call, and I think the river is cold enough. I'm sorry, but I feel I would have to veto any further increase in iceflow."

Sceptical murmurs filled the chamber. Woshington's colleagues looked awkward, but reluctant to challenge him without a counterargument. Without a reliable cooling system, Core Plus was dead. As was the threat of a seventh district diluting his influence any further.

"Woshington, surely we could devise some alternate cooling system once it is up and running..."

"Toriel, I cannot in good conscience ask the denizens of Waterfall to endure this for so long."

"Come on, Woshy. Remember what we've been through. This will help the entire Underground!"

"Indeed it may. But my duty is to Waterfall first. You shall have to find another way."

It was an impasse. Nobody was fooled as to the motive. Asgore and Toriel looked at each other anxiously. Hamburg looked sort of relieved he hadn't messed things up.

"Well, what if...?"

For the second time, Asriel was the center of attention. He almost rubbed his hands again, realised it, and instead scratched his horn.

"It's just, I've been toying with an idea for a while. I didn't think it was my place to bring it up, but if we're stuck on this..."

"Go ahead, Asriel." Toriel's hope spurred him on.

"The thing is, for my whole life, we've been focusing on how to control the temperature in Hotlands. And that's been good. I thought the new Core might make this pointless, but how about we, well, send that heat through the underground?"

Occule literally eyed him with curiosity. "What do you mean, Prince Asriel?"

"Well, we don't have to do the whole underground. But if Waterfall is too cold already, perhaps we could use the lava pumping systems we use in the core today to provide additional heat?"

"Croak?"

"If we laid it along the river, sure, the ice would just melt. But I think if we had dedicated water channels, clear of the main stream, you could warm them up for the people of Waterfall to make use of. And," he added hastily, grabbing the project budget report from his mother, "I think if we built that first, and delayed starting the Core by a few months, the additional costs would be minimal, as would the burdens we're asking you to endure."

The Hotland councillors didn't look too impressed by this proposal, but lacking a formal veto over such things, their disinterest was more a polite protest at having to contribute anything. Most of the others were interested, including Woshington's colleagues.

"It is... a novel proposal, Young Prince. Literally reversing the flow of our thinking. However, I still believe asking us to endure the river's temperature dropping further is a great ask."

"With, um, all due respect Councillor Woshington, Woshetta told me how she likes swimming in the cold water. It helps her wash."

His own daughter undermining his position, Woshington turned to his colleagues. They were surprisingly resolute. And the veto needed unanimity. This was filthy.

"I see. Very well. Waterfall shall respect the will of the Council. Provided the upgrades do not begin until everything the Prince has offered is complete, regardless of timeframe."

"I think that's perfectly reasonable." beamed Asgore. Under the table, he and Toriel squeezed hands fiercely.

* * *

With the 'Woshetta Amendment' appended, plus a few budget tweaks to lighten the tax burden, the Core Plus project could begin. Asriel only had to stand on the tip of his toes to receive his Father's congratulatory hug after the meeting adjourned.

"It must not have been easy to speak in front of all those people, my son." Toriel said with pride.

"I was a little nervous, but it's not like I haven't seen them around or anything. And talking to people can get the job done better than barking an order."

"Sounds like you're on the right path to ruling with wisdom." said Asgore with equal pride.

"Well I can't just give out an order and expect immediate obedience, can I?"

"Indeed, my son. Well, except for..."

"For what?"

Those two words froze his parents. Asriel didn't understand what was going on.

"Surely your father has..."

Asgore found his large paws very interesting. Toriel's gaze could pierce the barrier.

"Asriel, could you excuse us?"

"Uh, sure. See you later!"

Not wanting to be a casualty in one of their rare arguments, Asriel raced home. Grabbing a pot and some tools, he headed into the Throne Room. A corner blazed with gold. It took time, but he identified the six original flowers, carefully dug them up, repotted them, and headed out of the castle. Time to carry out a promise.

* * *

Whilliam greeted him cheerfully when he entered the Ruins. Whilhomena was the third Ruins Councillor and had told quite an exciting story, though in her version for some reason Asriel had threatened to have Woshington executed, something he had to correct while suppressing the horror he felt. After enduring a swarm hug and accepting a Spider Donut, he made his excuses and continued to the cavern.

It was nearly like he first found it. His sketches in the soil was almost completely uncovered, and the soil looked ready to hold life, besides the small ring of grass that had held on all this time. There was still one massive boulder at the back of the cavern, but the rest had been cleared out with years of meticulous work. Despite the hole in the ceiling being clear, much less sunlight shone down than on that first day. The cave entrance must still be blocked up, and he was powerless to change that. Regardless, one beam still landed on the soil in the middle, so that's where he'd work.

Carefully digging at the soil, tossing aside any pebbles he found, he made sure plenty of moist soil was brought to the surface. With limited exposure to the outside world, this was already one of the damper areas of the ruins, but it would be important to give them a head start. Finally, he gingerly took the flowers from the pot and placed them in the holes he had dug, giving them a little room to spread their roots. Covering said roots with damp soil, he took a bottle of water from his bag of tools and sprinkled it over them. He stood up and viewed his handiwork with satisfaction.

"You have done an impressive job, Asriel."

He wheeled round in surprise. His parents were approaching.

"Mom? Dad? Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, my son. We shall need to speak with you when we return home. But that can wait."

"You knew where I was?"

"Well, when you have been down here as long as we have, you eventually learn of all sorts of nooks and crannys. Also Whilliam told us how you like to come here."

"Oh. I always thought this place was, I dunno, my secret place."

"Son, you are not the first to discover one of the best places to feel the warmth of the sun on your face, although I see that is less the case these days. That being said," Asgore eyed Asriel's name on the floor, "I'd say you've made this place your own. You certainly put the effort into it."

"So you come down here to watch the sunlight too?"

"At first. But it hurt too much."

Asriel couldn't fathom sunlight being painful. But then again it was the difference between having had and lost it, and having never had it and gaining it. Even the greatly weakened power of the sun made this place feel comfortable.

"So, that last boulder. Planning to keep it here?"

"Um, no, I just wasn't strong enough to move it yet."

Asgore laughed. "Remember Asriel. As King you sometimes need to let others help you."

Cracking his knuckles, he approached the boulder. Adopting a broad stance, his red trident appeared with a flash. He remained in that stance for just a moment, before thrusting it into the boulder with both hands. There was a terrific crashing sound as the boulder shattered into tiny pieces. Asriel felt like a kid again, in the best way.

The three of them cleared the debris away. Asriel looked at the brown rainbow as it finally emerged. He had fiddled with adding some colour to his fire in the past, but Bearnard had laughed at him. Maybe he should do that again...

"Asriel?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"When you first came here, did you bring any... paper with you?"

"No, why?"

He walked over to where she was. Under what had been the very bottom of the boulder were two sheets of paper, protected from being crushed by a natural indent in the floor. Toriel grabbed one, and promptly dropped it as she covered her mouth in surprise.

"What is it?!"

Asriel picked it up now. It was him. A drawing of what he looked like when he first came here as a child, with overlarge floppy ears and a green sweater. It was clearly a child's drawing, though it had been drawn in marker rather than the crayons of his own youth. His own name was written in rainbow colours at the bottom.

"Who could have drawn this...?"

The second sheet might answer this. He promptly picked it up, and himself almost dropped it in surprise.

"Asriel?"

His father looked over his shoulder, and now the entire family was surprised and confused. This was a letter. Attatched to it with a paperclip was a photograph.

"Dad, this is... This is a human!"

"...yes."

The photograph was a young girl, with brown hair and rosy cheeks. There was something in her eyes Asriel couldn't make out, and she had a tiny smile, like she wasn't used to it. He hungrily read the letter.

_DEAR ASRIEL,_

_I CAME HERE TO BE ALONE, AND I SAW YOU DRAWING YESTERDAY. I THINK YOU'RE NICE. DO YOU WANT TO COME UP AND PLAY WITH ME?_

_YOURS TRULY,_

_CHARA_

_PS. THIS PICTURE WILL HELP YOU KNOW WHO I AM._

_PPS. I LIKE THESE FLOWERS AND I HOPE YOU DO TOO._

It was a lot to take in.

"She... she must have seen me playing here. And then she came back the next day to... to invite me. She wouldn't have known about the barrier. But then the cave-in happened later. I... I hope she wasn't hurt."

All three remained silent for a while.

"This... this is such a lovely gift." Said Toriel. She was smiling broadly, but tears were flowing as well. "And those flowers as well! It appears your first experience with humans was a happy one. I knew they could not all be..."

A reassuring arm rested on her shoulder. "Yeah, Mom. I hope she's okay."

Asgore seemed lost in thought.

* * *

It was getting dark by the time they returned home. The journey had been pleasant enough, people waving at the Royal Family and their returning in kind. Normally they would have taken the scenic route home, but on this occasion Toriel suggested taking the River. It was a way of giving Woshington some personal space, or else it would look like Asgore was taking the earlier success with poor grace. Also it was just faster.

Instead of talking about whatever it was around the dinner table like they normally would, they escorted Asriel to the throne room. It struck him that for all his apprenticeship as king, he had spent precious little time here, unless it was helping Asgore with the flowers. When your preferred method of leading people is to be among them, such places are practically obsolete. Now however King and Queen sat on their thrones with Asriel standing before them. He almost felt like he was on trial. There was something like regret on Toriel's face. Whatever she had compelled Asgore to do, perhaps the day's events had softened her resolve. When she spoke however it was quite steady.

"Asriel. For the past five years, you have studied under me, learning the laws and customs of this Kingdom. You have accompanied your father to get to know the people of this Kingdom. You have learned well. Not merely from us, but from others. It is clear you are not one to dismiss an idea because of its source, and such thinking is to be treasured. Your judgement is, not flawless perhaps, but nearly always well reasoned. When you choose to apply it, that is." He felt slightly uncomfortable. "But most of all, you have never abandoned the kindness we have always known to be part of your core. You have grown and changed so much, but in spite of everything, you have stayed true to yourself. And for that, we cannot be more proud."

A typical teenage response would be to let all the praise sink into him and let his ego shine. Part of him wanted to do this. But the meeting was too formal to be something so simple. His parents were working up to something, not unlike Woshington starting his attack on the Core proposal by flattering Toriel.

"Son," said Asgore, "I must as you a question: What do you believe the most important parts of leading a kingdom are?"

He thought back to everything he had learned.

"Well, it's tough to summarise. You have to be able to make snap decisions, but you can't rush to judgement, you have to think it through. Sometimes you have to know more than the people advising you. You can't issue orders on a whim and expect them to be obeyed, you have to work with people so everyone understands why you're doing it. You have to accept that you can make mistakes, and..." Whilbur's tiny body flashed in his mind for a moment. "...you also have to accept that you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. And with experience, you can cultivate the wisdom for when to think, when to act, and when _not_ to act."

His parents nodded in approval.

"A noble effort, Prince Asriel," replied his Father formally, "it's certainly a better answer than I could have given at your age. There is one aspect that is incomplete, however."

"What's that?"

"My son," said Toriel, "you are correct that blindly barking orders to supposed subordinates is a terrible way to rule. It is unsustainable and is likely to stoke resentment in the people. However, there is one final right, privilege and responsibility the King of the Underground has. When we were banished here, every Monster took an oath, and have instructed their children in it. Should the King ever issue this order, every Monster alive must obey without question. And it is only the King who can decide this. No ministers, no councillors. Even I could not stay your Father's hand if this decision was in his heart. To bear the responsibility of this decision is his Final Duty."

Asriel stood still, waiting with baited breath.

"It is the decision," Asgore eventually continued, "of whether to renew the war against the humans."

This revelation hung in the air for a long while.

"Oh. Is that it?"

The tension was replaced with surprise.

"Asriel, my son, I do not believe you appreciate the gravity of this decision."

"Well, it's just, the humans sealed us here centuries ago. If they wanted to attack us, surely they would have done it by now."

"I see where you have misunderstood," said Asgore gravely, "so let me ask you: If the humans did indeed come to the underground and start attacking us, would you fight them? Would you rally the kingdom to join them in battle?"

He thought of Whilbur's tiny body. "I... I wouldn't like it. I don't like hurting people. You've seen me after I give my friends a bloody nose when sparring. But..." a steadying breath, "...I don't like seeing others get hurt either. If there were humans down here, and they were attacking, I would fight. I would kill if necessary."

"A sound judgement." Asgore nodded approvingly. "But ultimately, such a scenario is self defence. It is easy, and natural, to justify such a war. And therefore it's not the war I'm speaking of. Now I must ask you: What if no humans entered the Underground? What if you had no evidence of hostile intent? Would you declare war then?"

The tension had returned. Asriel wasn't sure how to proceed.

"...what's the point?" he ventured. "Why declare war against an enemy you can't reach? The barrier means we can't attack them."

"Yes. Therefore the first stage of any such war is to do away with the barrier. You know what that entails."

"Seven human souls..."

A solemn nod. "If you were to declare such a war, the kingdom would begin training for combat. The Ministers and Councillors would be truly subordinate to you, and your orders are truly final. In the meantime you, and anyone else you choose, would strive to bring a human to the Underground. Obviously no easy task, and it may happen by accident, but when you have a human, you must... kill them to take their soul."

"But... but what if they didn't do anything..."

"Now you appreciate the gravity of this decision. If you go down this path, it is now kill or be killed. And not just once, you will have to do it six more times. And then lead the Kingdom to the surface to reclaim what was once ours. Do you think you could do that?"

There was no reply. He felt cold. He thought of Whilbur again, and the tantalising feeling of sun on his fur, and for a moment thought that maybe breaking the barrier would be worth it. But then he remembered a drawing of his own face and a photograph of a young girl now resting on the desk in his bedroom, and thought of the price he'd have to pay. He started rubbing his hands again.

"It is perhaps the heaviest of the burdens I have borne while sat on this throne." continued Asgore. "I admit, it was cowardly of me to keep it from you, but it is a decision that would go against everything we recognise you to be. I did not want to burden you too."

"You do not have to tell us what you would do right now." Toriel leaned forward in her throne. "When the time comes, it is ultimately your decision and you shall have to make it on your own. But from this point on it is something you shall have to think about."

A lump in Asriel's throat made his "Thank you" sound choked.

"If it is any comfort, we had this discussion when the Kingdom was young. Even setting aside the risk of inviting our vanquishers to come down and finish the job, we both agreed that any more bloodshed would be just a waste. Is that not true, Asgore?"

Asgore's head was bowed. He looked a little intimidating.

"Gorey?"

"Forgive me, Tori. I've been pondering it of late, and I think... there is a time I would consider declaring war."

"What?!" Toriel clutched her muzzle in shock. "But why? What has changed?"

He looked up again. At Asriel. "Our son."

"What? But what did I do-?"

"You were born. As simple as that. We both love you with all our hearts. This may be my weakness, but I have fear as well. Fear of losing you. And today I discover that a human appeared to be watching you. And nobody knew. If they were hostile they could have..."

"But she wasn't!"

"I know that. But if a human hurt you or... well..."

"Asgore." There was steel in Toriel's voice. "I thought you understood. If you embrace the Final Duty, you will have to abide by it. To do so after the worst has happened, can you really go through with it?"

"I'd have to. It would be my duty." He closed his eyes. The prospect seemed foul to him in any case. "I may not like it, but I would fulfil it. Every human who entered the underground would-"

"Do you know why I think we lost the war?"

This question was a surprise to everyone. Asriel could tell they were treading on ground not touched in centuries.

"Why we lost-? The humans were too strong, you know this."

"That may be true. But all we needed was a soul to redress the balance. Can you honestly say there was never one moment you could have taken one?"

He looked at her a long time. "...no. There were two. If I had acted faster..."

"Precisely. You hesitated to kill them, and even when you did, the opportunity had slipped away as other humans attacked. You hate to kill, even in self defence."

"Do you think I made a mistake? My hesitation condemned us?"

"No, Gorey." Toriel held his hand beseechingly. "That hatred of killing is why I love you. We have instilled that in our son together. What good would be winning the war if we lost what we are? Starting the war again would mean losing one of the two people I love the most in the world, even if I had already lost the other. And all who fell that day would have perished for naught."

The pleading note in her voice was intense.

"...I am sorry, I cannot say I would never do it. Not anymore. But Toriel, I would not enter into it lightly. I know the costs. But if I ever had to, I'd take the soul of every human who came-"

"Why wait for them to come?" she asked bitterly. The fact he was still entertaining the possibility was torture to her. "If you truly want to bring war and slaughter, surely it is better to use the first human to escape the barrier and find six more-"

" _Tori!_ " It was Asgore's turn to feel shocked. "For someone who would never do it, that's incredibly ruthless!"

"You are correct. I would never order it if I had the power. But if it were happening regardless, I would not have the kingdom languish over your scruples. You said you would embrace the Final Duty, so either do it properly or not at all! Otherwise how could I ever..."

"You... you would not support me?"

"You forget, Asgore. I never took the oath. We were united in mind, so there was no need. You know I have always strived for diplomacy first, even during the war. The human child's gift to Asriel is surely a sign of hope that we can live together once again. I am ashamed you take it as a sign of fear. If you take this path, I... I could not bare to stay-"

" _Mom, Dad, please!_ "

Despite just talking about him, both had briefly forgotten Asriel was in the room. The fur on his cheeks was quite damp.

"Dad... I'm not going to say never declare war. There's too much we don't know about the outside world to say absolutely never. And even though right now I want to say I'd never do it, even I'm still thinking about the what ifs that would justify it, so I'm not one to criticise. But I think Mom's right, I think we should talk to them first. Isn't that what you always taught me? Talking to people first? But, just, whatever happens... please don't declare war if something happens to me. I know you love me, but I'm not worth risking the kingdom. At least try to talk to them first? At least let Mom help you make your decision...?"

He barely had time for a sniffle before Asgore was clear of his throne and swooping down on him. It had been a long time since Father and Son embraced like this.

"I am so sorry. Forgive me. I... I still have that weakness. I still have that fear. I'm ashamed of it, that my own son would have to remind me. Please don't allow me to forget. Tori, please, help me remember..."

As Asriel felt tears drip onto his head, another set of large arms embraced him.

"It is alright, my son. We shall always put our best foot forward. There is no better way to honour you."

In spite of the resolution of the argument, dinner was subdued. And that night, all three lay awake, with much to think about.


	6. Science and Engineering

Conversation in the Royal Household was muted for a while. Asgore and Asriel had new and complicated emotions to work through, and it wasn't something you could fix with a nice chat. Toriel had made up her mind long ago and hadn't budged at all, but however she strove to remind Asgore of their commitment to peace was kept from Asriel's ears. In all honesty he appreciated it, for he had his own thoughts to deal with. What he said that night was still true, but the fact of that decision still weighed on him. Even if most days he could say he'd never do it, there was a stray thought now and then. The photograph of Chara, now framed and standing next to a childhood picture of his family, was useful in being a silent counterargument.

Fortunately, life went on. With no humans in the Underground and no fresh grievance from them to force the issue, there was only so long you could dwell on something that felt like it would never happen. Toriel never brought it up, and she and Asriel would spend a day a week reading a recovered book. His education from her had effectively ended, this was purely to bond. In fact Toriel would revel in learning new things alongside him. It had been a long time since she had done that. Meanwhile his journeys with his father, initially awkward after the conversation in the throne room, soon felt like themselves again. The argument was not forgotten perhaps, but a new understanding had been forged between the three of them. Perhaps the conversation had been necessary in the end.

Not long after learning of the Final Duty his training with Sally wrapped up. It had been pretty abrupt, she declared herself satisfied that he could block all her attempts at getting close, and suggesting maybe he could practice on his own. This left him without any formal education for the first time in years, but there was no free time earned from this. As it had been his suggestion, Asgore recommended he supervise the Waterfall heating system as it was built.

This was harder than it sounded. His own impulse to help turned out to be a habit he had to keep in check. Digging the channels was simple enough, but assembling the pipes that would contain the lava was complex, and blundering in trying to help would be counterproductive. So he forced himself to trust that the actual construction experts knew what they were doing, and let them get on with it. The one real time he contributed more than advice or an order was when he joined a squad of monsters with barrier magic to divert the flow of the river to deal with a channel whose temporary dam had burst and flooded early.

Everyone agreed he would be the one to inaugurate the system. On the day everything was ready he felt every eyeball in Waterfall rest on him, as well as his parents'. Toriel had written him a speech to give about progress, but standing before the main pump, he'd just said "Howdy!" and started it up. If Toriel was disappointed she didn't show it, but later Gerson congratulated him for his brevity.

And now the upgrade to the Core could begin. Asgore took charge of supervision personally, and for the next year, for the first time in living memory, he wasn't a regular sight in the Underground. The monsters didn't feel neglected however. Asriel, partly from conscious decision and partly from ingrained habit, had taken to patrolling the kingdom on his own. It didn't take long for others to approach him with their requests and disputes. It spoke to Toriel's centuries of experience that a lot of them could have come straight out of her lessons.

"I'll get that door for you, Mrs Snowbunny."

"Yeah, that broken puzzle piece could hurt someone, I'll disarm it now."

"Whallace, you know the council ruled on this already, you can't get a Royal do-over without significant new evidence."

"Come on, Blooky, didn't Dad talk to you about this?"

"How do I know she didn't steal it? Because I found it under the bar at Grillby's."

"Um, I don't know what you'll say to win her back, but if you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."

The need for supervision had mellowed out after the main framework of the Core was built, and Asgore returned to public life. He'd gone on a patrol on a day Asriel was training with Argie, and he proceeded to spend dinner beaming at his son without saying why. It was kind of embarrassing. He did say something about Gaster being busy, which reminded Asriel of his other suggestion at the council meeting. Best to get a start on that as well.

* * *

"'Hydraponics'? Hmm, the term sounds familiar. I believe it was in _Recent Innovations in Agricultural Techniques_. A moment, sire."

Gaster strode over to the crammed bookcase, and extracted a ragged and slightly dusty red book. He flicked through it.

"I believe this is what you recalled, Prince Asriel," he said, "though the term appears to be _hydro_ ponics. Because of how it uses water."

"Oh. Well I think hydraponics sounds better."

"And what's more, it is mostly theoretical. I mean, humans may avail of it these days for all we know, but this book is thirty years old, judging by the print date. See how these pictures are drawings, not photographs."

"Oh, so it might not work?"

A spark of amusement was in Gaster's eyes. "I didn't say that. The theory is sound. And with magic we could improve the yield by-"

"Going to stop you there, Doctor. Dad said I could ask for the book and a brief overview. Your priority is Core Plus. If I drag you away from that, Mom will probably drag _me_ away by the ear."

"Indeed. I suspect she is even more excited about it than I am. Very well, if you wish to forge ahead alone, go ahead. However there are some technicians on my staff whose services shall not be required for supervising the Core's upgrade. If you wish, and with your parents' permission, they could help you get your project up and running."

"That sounds great! Thank you, Doctor. Extra tomatoes won't break the barrier, but maybe a little extra pasta sauce can cheer everyone up."

The spark in the Doctor's eyes faded a little. "Yes. I wish you well."

Asriel frowned a little. "Is everything okay?"

Gaster turned to focus on something. "Oh, oh yes. I suppose I regret failing to find a way to break the barrier. That leaves us with... well, you know what's required."

"Yes." he agreed sombrely. He followed Gaster's gaze to a machine he hadn't noticed before. A large half-built cylinder with wires and circuits everywhere. It looked like it was supposed to be powered by something, but wasn't hooked up. At chest level was a small cavity that looked like it could fit a large cup.

"What's that," asked Asriel, "a coffee machine?"

"Hmm? No, nothing like that. Just an idea I tinkered with for a while. The time is not right to advance it, however. I'm sure you or your father will be the first to know when I do."

Thinking nothing more of it, Asriel left the office.

* * *

The two technicians, a lanky moldbygg called Quentin and a squat dragon called Smaurtin, were eager to jump on a new project. With all hands on deck for the Core, they'd been somewhat left out in the cold, so to be called to work on a Royal Project was an unexpected honour. The three of them discussed it at length, and finally set up a proof of concept in Waterfall. This gave them a plentiful water supply, and also availed of the new heating system, as if it was all planned in advance. Also the cave they chose could be tunnelled out if it was worthy of expansion. Such expansion would have to wait for the first Core Plus module to come online, however. The old Core was actually being taxed for once, its energy used to power construction techniques that were building its successor.

And its successor was ready even faster than planned. Two years to the day that the Woshetta Core Enhancement Act had passed – the name being a final spoonful of sugar – The Royal Family, the Council and the Ministers stood before Doctor Gaster as he gave what was officially a speech, but was really an excessively complex technical description of how the Core would now work. After he finished and most of the audience woke up, Asgore was given the honour of flicking the switch.

There were no explosions. No sparks. No ominous rumbling. No flashing red lights or alarms. There wasn't even any sound of a machine powering up. From Asriel's view, and the view of most of the audience, it looked like nothing happened at all. However the phalanx of technicians were pointing to various monitors and dials excitedly, and weeping with joy and hugging each other as Gaster stoically said the switchover was a complete success. Everyone took his word for it, and politely applauded him.

At the party which followed, somebody who actually spoke science translated what they now had with one of five modules operational. Its output was currently at half of its safe maximum, and with this it matched the maximum safe output of the old design. This meant dismantling the old Core could begin at once, and speed up construction even faster and save costs. This helped assuage some of the Council, led by Woshington, who'd been snippy that there were budget overruns as the Core Plus was built. Everyone else was so delighted in the potential of the project that Doctor Gaster getting his calculations wrong for once was of no concern to them. Woshington's complaints turned out to have been a parting shot, as at the party he announced his retirement from the Waterfall Councillors. Asgore led the toast honouring him with sincere enthusiasm.

With the Core well in hand, Asriel returned to his own project. Quentin wobbled excitedly at him when he opened the door to the brightly lit cave. The two plants they started with, one tomato and one lettuce, were flourishing. From books about plants he'd read as a child, Asriel figured they had grown a good two months faster than humans knew them to grow. Even from his brief experience of what sunlight felt like on his face, the makeshift solar lamps Smaurtin had designed brought him back to the cavern that day.

"Of course," said Smaurtin, tapping his horn, "it helps we've adapted our current techniques for cultivating vegetation and combined it with the lamps. If we could figure out a method that requires less active magic feeding the only limit to upscaling is what the new Core can do."

Quentin seemed to tilt his head with a soft 'blorp' noise.

"Hmm, that has potential. Prince Asriel, could you ask your father for the resources to build it? And maybe look into expanding this cave in preparation for mass production."

"I can handle the tunnelling. I've had practise. And for more resources, I think know how to persuade him."

The Royal Household had a delicious salad that evening. Asgore didn't need much persuasion beyond that.

* * *

The second module left the monsters with more power than they knew what to do with. The Infrastructure Minister almost evaporated out of exhaustion, keeping up with all the impromptu upgrades people were taking the initiative with, using the power to improve roads and hook up houses that never had electricity before. Several laws had to be passed in a marathon session of the Council so nobody would get electrocuted, especially in Waterfall. There was surprisingly little work going on in New Home, which had benefited from the original Core for the longest and didn't need any major upgrades, but everywhere else electricians seemed to pop up fully trained.

Snowdin in particular got in on the action. Argie of all people received the privilege of turning on a neon sign for Grillby's, to much howling and cheering from the rest of the Guard. Sometimes Asriel hadn't appreciated how cold Snowdin could be with his fur blunting the worst of it. But now when he went into a newly expanded Grillby's with his friends it was almost like teleporting to Hotland. Grillby's had always been a focus of life in Snowdin, but with bright lights and music from a jukebox it got more crowded. And cheerful. And rowdy. Asriel personally had to quell a few fights which broke out while he was present over someone cheating at poker.

It didn't stop at Snowdin either. There was a power line that lead to Home and the Ruins, laid down not long after the old Core was built to power the Royal Household, and a team of migosps were inspecting and repairing it, while other lines started to be laid down. Apart from the household very little of the Ruins had electricity, but people weren't waiting for the third module to get ready. And shortly before it was activated, Asriel found himself tasked with taking an unusual holiday.

"The power to our old house should be restored, my son," Toriel had explained, "and your father and I believe Home could house many monsters once again, especially if your hydraponics project is successful." He had decided not to go with the human name. "And if you stayed there for a week or so, it might encourage early adopters."

He didn't travel alone. He invited Bearnard and Dohj to go with him, and he could show them his childhood haunts. When they arrived, the house wasn't empty. Whenceslas had led his extended family in cleaning it up for them. He thanked them, and then stood on the threshold, thinking about the day he was told his life would be changing. The gravitas of the moment was undermined when he bumped his horns on the door frame. They and his body had conspired to teach him to be wary of doors by adding a foot or so to his height over the last year, and the house's doors were never as tall as his new house.

"Hey," said Dohj, "this looks just like your place in New Home!"

"Yeah. Mom and Dad were happy with the arrangement. Don't fix what isn't broken."

"Who gets which room?" asked Bearnard.

"I think I'd like my old room. It'll be like old times!"

"Sure about that, man?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Dohj escorted him to the room, knowing which one it was as it was the same as in New Home. There was a bed there, freshly made. But it was the same bed he had once slept in. His feet would stick out over the edge.

"Hmm, good point. You want this room?"

"Might as well, I'll actually fit on it." he laughed.

Asriel ended up in his parents' old room, and Bearnard took the spare. They didn't spend much time there, they were often wandering through the silent town. Despite its previous slow decline and nearly a decade of complete neglect, most houses were in good shape, and mostly just needed cleaning. Monsters built stuff to last. Asriel had pencil and paper, scribbling down the few repairs that would have to be made, as well as one or two ideas for improvements. He tried not to dwell on them however, as the Infrastructure Minister would get annoyed at Royal Overreach. He planned to talk about it with his parents when he returned.

"And that's where Gerson used to live," he pointed out, as they sat on a stone bench to eat lunch, "see the hammer above the doorframe? Dad told me how one time he thought there was a human in town and he broke down his own door to try and get to the school to protect kids. It turned out to be a butterfly."

His friends laughed.

"Wow," said Bearnard, "normally all we hear about Gerson is a story he told where your dad looks like an idiot. No offence."

"Hee hee, none taken. And not many people know this, but the flow of embarrassing stories is actually a two way street. Dad's just too polite to spread his around."

They ate in silence for a while. Asriel enjoyed the peace. It couldn't last.

"Hey guys," asked Dohj, "what do you think of Kitty?"

"The girl you two went to school with?" Asriel shrugged. "She seems nice. I think she's a little intimidated by me because I'm a prince. Why do you ask?"

"Well... It's just that I'm thinking of asking her out."

"Oh, cool! I hope it goes well for you-"

"Excuse me?" Bearnard had put his Grillby Burger down.

"Kitty. You know, tiny pink nose, slender tail? I wanna-"

"You can't," said Bearnard flatly, "I was going to ask her."

"What?! I've never seen you talk to her."

"I do have a life outside you. She was my history tutor in our last year of school, and I think we got on rather well. So I'd like to ask her."

"Well," said Asriel, "how about-"

"Excuse me? Why waste your time? She'll go with me. She laughed when I threw that snowball at Clyde Drake. She likes my sense of humour."

"She borrowed one of my dad's romance novels, and it made her cry. She likes my sensitive side."

"Guys, how about we-"

Both of them got to their feet.

"Well I called dibs. Tough luck!"

"It doesn't work that way. It depends who she responds to."

"And she'll respond to me, so tough!"

"Guys, come on-"

"Why?" Bearnard's fangs were bared. "What do you have that I don't?"

"It's what you do have that's the problem. She won't go for a big guy like you, you'll squash her!"

"Guys..."

"And you think a scrawny runt impresses her? 'Oh, look at me, I can summon knitting needles for weapons!'"

"You want a taste of those needles, buddy?!" Two yellow flashes announced his daggers.

"Any time!" he roared. An orange flash preceded his poleaxe.

" _Then bring it-_ "

" _ **Stop!**_ "

A flash brought a translucent barrier between them, but it turned out to be unnecessary. At Asriel's words the argument halted, and they both turned as he too stood up.

"I'm not having my friends try to kill each other over jealously," he said, fixing both of them with a piercing glare, "it's bad enough when one day we may have to rely on each other. Flip a coin or something. Hell, I'll flip it!"

An impulse of defiance backed up his words, which was helpful in hiding the curiosity he felt at their expressions.

"Damn, Asriel," said Bearnard at last, "you reminded me of your dad. You know, when my dad had trouble with that ghost?"

He was taken aback by the comparison. His frame slouched, and he scratched the back of his head as an embarrassed smile spread on his face. "G-golly, you think so?"

"Hah!" laughed Dohj. "There's our Prince! Nice job impersonating your old man, buddy!"

The three laughed it up as the argument was forgotten. Asriel then got out a coin and asked Dohj to call it. Later he found out she turned then both down.

* * *

"Come on Mom, give us a big smile!"

With a short breath, Toriel suddenly split into an enormous grin as Asriel pointed his new camera at her.

"Ihsh thihsh big enuff my shun?"

"I... I guess we'll never know. You see, I had the lens cap on, _on purpose!_ "

Toriel's fangs were swallowed by her pursed lips. But then they resurfaced as she started chuckling, which Asriel joined in with.

"Hee hee! You certainly tricked me, Asriel!"

"Well, I just wanted to show you there are ways to make people laugh without puns."

"Well perhaps, but I shall never abandon them. And that is my final _word_."

Asriel clutched his face, still smiling.

"But seriously Mom, thanks for getting this camera fixed up."

"And now you shall not have to borrow mine. And I shall not find it smashed to pieces."

"Mom! You know Dad was the one who sat on it!"

"And who left it lying around on his chair?"

"I... well, thanks again."

Indeed, Asriel's developing interest in cameras when he was younger had been halted by that incident. The fact any use of the royal camera was afterwards strictly supervised left it difficult for him to do anything interesting, and he soon lost interest. But with the third Core module up and running and the explosion of construction it spawned, he was struck with the idea to document it. He had tried sketching scenes of busy monsters, new houses and the few quiet parts of the Underground, and although he liked his drawings it was slow work, which made him think of the camera.

His first stop was the Royal Science labs, to video the prototype Core module. However Doctor Gaster insisted he had dismantled it to avoid wasting resources, and sure enough while there were plenty of strange half-finished devices in his lab, nothing looked like the prototype. So Asriel settled on filming the full size installation, monsters swarming around the fourth module. An argument had broken out while he was talking to some workers. A whimsalot was complaining to the foreman about why lunch breaks were being cut, and when Asriel probed the foreman said some councillors had ordered such cuts to compensate for the project still being over budget. he promised to talk to Asgore and get the councillors to loosen up.

From there he went to Waterfall, jabbering excitedly over the footage he shot of the lava pumps, and the various monsters enjoying the heated water channels they provided. And not just aquatic ones. The residents of Snowdin now held their swimming lessons in such a channel. Bearnard had landed a job teaching them, his own childhood experience encouraging him to become a powerful swimmer. And from the water channels he visited the hydraponics cavern. Smaurtin was there monitoring the crops, and he waved at the camera while not looking at it, and stammered about how the vegetable and grain yields were steady. Not enough to replace every other source of food, but a good compliment to them. Soon they may have to enlarge the cavern again. Asriel had been glad to have their help when they first expanded, remembering the Ruins cavern and the effort he put into doing it alone.

He would film that cavern too, but not before Snowdin and its bright lights and warm houses. Grillby did him the courtesy of looking at the camera for a moment. And then along the brightly lit path and through the towering doors of the Ruins. Home was almost as busy as the Core, with Asgore supervising the repairs from his old bedroom in the Royal House, now a makeshift office. A few houses already had occupants, mostly from the Ruins and Snowdin, but also some from New Home and the Core, who appreciated Home's 'rustique charm'. Asgore showed him the list of applicants. It wasn't the same tidal wave which had filled up the Core, as the population pressure hadn't increased much since then, but it was steady enough. Still, Woshington's fears of a seventh district were unfounded for the time being. Asriel in turn told Asgore about the penny-pinching, and he promised to get the Council to lay off. The returns on the Core were too enormous to stress about it.

He lingered in his cavern for a while, filming in absolute silence. Unfortunately the surface was not feeling very cooperative, and whatever the weather was like, it wasn't allowing much sunlight through the blocked up cave. In spite of this, the flowers he planted had aggressively colonised the barren soil and almost glowed in the dim light. His drawings remained just as untouched as the day he first etched them. He wondered if Quentin might have suggestions for preserving them.

There was a warm, pleasant but unfamiliar smell when he finally returned home. He walked into the dining room to find Asgore fiddling with some wires next to the television. Toriel was holding a bowl and heating it with magic, and popcorn was beginning to peek out from the top.

"There you are, Son!" said Asgore. "Hook it up!"

"Huh? Hook what up?"

"Your camera of course! You've been filming all day, it must be great!"

"What?! B-but it's not-"

"Oh, don't be modest, Asriel, I'm sure it's fantastic, the way your mother went on about it. I even snuck home early to set this up. And maybe we could show it in public, so every monster knows what we're doing for them!"

A floppy ear was seized and twisted. "I never thought I'd show anyone!"

"Then what is the point of filming, my son?" asked Toriel. "I understand it is raw footage, but we are just as interested in how you view the Kingdom. It is a novel way for you to express your thoughts. Besides, when was the last time the three of us just sat down and experienced something together?"

"And I didn't mean we would just show everything on the camera as is, Son." added Asgore. "If we need it trimmed, I believe Napstablook's cousin knows a thing or two about editing. Now, would you like some popcorn?"

Flanked by the pincer movement of emotional appeal and promises of mitigated embarrassment, Asriel surrendered the camera to Asgore, and scooped a large handful from the bowl Toriel held.

* * *

As the Core approached completion, a rapid six years after starting, everyone seemed to gain something.

Asriel gained the few inches needed to see eye to eye with his mother, though the fact that boss monsters continued to grow slowly in their early adulthood meant it would be a while before he could match his father's height. Also people started treating him and Asgore interchangeably, for the most part willing to accept his help and suggestions as readily as they accepted Asgore's.

His father in turn gained a more distinguished look as the gold of his beard began to play host to grey hairs. By the time the final module came online there was a solid streak of grey, which Toriel stroked affectionately. And quite by accident he gained a new favourite tea, as the golden flowers turned out to brew a tea that he found quite relaxing. Asriel idly wondered if this changed how he viewed Chara, or humans in general.

Toriel gained a pair of spectacles she was resigned to wearing everywhere now. Asgore got his revenge for her admiration of his own ageing by passing highly sincere compliments about how sagely and intelligent she appeared. This had sparked an escalating pun war about beards and glasses to the point their son pretended Quentin wanted to ask him something and left the room.

Woshington, after a respectable retirement, gained the position of Lead Councillor for New Home. Not even Toriel, politically shrewd as she was, had worked out the strings he pulled to achieve it. Gerson, who was visiting one day, threatened to spill the beans on Woshington's youthful beginnings if he started giving the youth of New Home a hard time, a threat Asgore smoothed over by getting him to try golden flower tea.

Doctor Gaster gained a spring in his step, although he was as reserved as ever when actually talking to him. Asgore had offered to give him an extended vacation, reasonably thinking successfully steering such a complex project to completion would be a feat never topped, but he declined. He was always hard at work, even if he occasionally allowed a good mood to manifest through his gait.

The hydraponics project and available housing meant young monsters were gaining the type of families they had dreamed of. Among the first civil buildings to be set up in Home was a nursery. Home also gained better transport, as the proposed river extension of long ago was the next big project made much easier and cheaper by the power of the Core, and thus the River Person gained a new batch of customers.

Everyone gained a sense of excitement at how it felt like the Underground was thriving. Progress was everywhere. Asriel's movie, though a little flamboyant for his tastes after Happstablook got his hands on it, underlined all this. Everywhere you looked, you could practically feel their hope.

They also gained a sense of restlessness.

* * *

_WOOSH. CLANG. WOOSH. WOOSH. CLANG._

In the Royal Guard barracks, Father and Son were sparring. Asriel's friends were cheering him on. Argie was supporting the King. It was only proper.

It hadn't been long after the Core upgrade was approved that Asriel had felt confident enough to challenge Asgore. He'd gone down just as quickly as the previous time, but it soon became a regular event. The fights lasted a lot longer now, though he had yet to win outright. He was able to keep up with Asgore's movements at least. Whether adulthood finally gave him the speed needed to actually deal with his father, or his father was finally beginning to slow down, wasn't clear. Greying hair hadn't stopped Asgore yet, so Asriel allowed himself a little confidence in his own ability rather than assuming a weakened opponent. And after all, he still hadn't beaten him.

The problem was the trident. Its length gave Asgore so much reach it was hard to do anything but play defence. He toyed with training with other weapons, but when Argie caught him clumsily thrusting a wooden spear around, he broke it in half on him. 

"Monsters really do fight best with the weapon they're most comfortable with," he had said, "even if it isn't obvious they would. Trust in yourself."

This pep talk didn't solve Asriel's immediate problem. He could parry the blows and keep his distance, but he could never strike hard enough to disarm his father, and getting in close to trip him up left him vulnerable to the trident. He tried such a probing attack, and was just barely able to leap clear of the sweeping strike he knew his father would make. This was hopeless. How could he parry the trident and sweep the legs at the same time?

A glance at Dohj game him an idea.

Tossing his saber into his left hand, he allowed his father to make some probing attacks while he adjusted his posture. Asgore suspected it to be a stance to throw him off, and it would turn out he was right.

Edging closer produced the desired effect. The sweeping strike was coming in from the left, and Asriel quickly dipped the sword to block it. But as he did so, his right arm swung towards Asgore's legs as though it held a saber.

And with a little flourish of light, it did. Not as elegant or sturdy as the one locked with the trident, but strong enough for the job.

A moment's silence, then a loud thud as Asgore crashed to the floor, accompanied by an "Oof!" The trident clattered then disappeared. The silence returned. Laughter broke it, a pleased guffaw. Asriel grinned, and took Asgore's outstretched hand to help him up.

"Got me at last! A clever trick, I never saw it coming. I don't know if your trainer approves?"

"Well he always said we could summon our weapons and nothing else. I just... tried summoning my weapon twice."

"That's the spirit. Remember, try things. Sometimes, they even work!"

Everyone in the room joined in the laughter. Even Argie, although he felt insubordinate for doing so.

"Hey champ, we're gonna change clothes and head home, see you later."

"Sure thing, Dohj." His friends jogged towards the locker room. He turned back to his father with another grin. "So Dad, I believe the score is one to me, a thousand to you. Maybe I'll catch up some day."

Asgore chortled. "I would say wait until your mother hears this, but we both know she isn't interested in sparring matches."

"Yeah. So should we head home and get ready for the Ministry meeting?"

"Yes, it's Roger and Sally's turn today. Oh!" Asgore pointed over to where Bearnard had sat. "He's left his gloves behind. Argie, could you-?"

"It's okay Dad, I've got it. I'll catch up with you."

Asriel walked over, picked the gloves up and left the room. Asgore remained to talk to Argie. The locker room door was ajar, and Asriel could hear his friends talking.

"...I dunno Dohj, you really think that's where we're headed?"

"Has to be, the signs all fit, don't they?"

"But you know Asgore, surely he wouldn't..."

His father's name stayed his hand, resting lightly on the handle.

"Then why work on everything? Look at the past ten years. He's built new homes in Home and Core. And we have a way more powerful Core now. And Asriel has been growing extra food for us. It all adds up!"

"But... declaring war?"

Asriel now froze.

"Just think about it, Bearnard! Mom talked about how life hadn't changed much until the time we were born, but ever since the humans have been dumping cool stuff for us to adapt, we've been using it to improve our lot in life. And I can't think of anything stopping us from getting better and better. Surely once we're ready, we'll be able to break the barrier! Won't it be awesome?"

"Well, maybe he just wants to give us nice things."

"Well maybe. But there's something else. Mom sometimes likes to tell me stuff about the Council, even if she strictly shouldn't. And during the last part of the Core Upgrade there was a big hullabaloo about it running over budget. The King said it was just some complications in the project. But what if he squirrelled that money away? I think he's stockpiling weapons to fight the humans!"

"Then why hasn't he done it yet?"

"Well... he just doesn't think the time is right yet. He'd know, he's fought them before, and he's ruled long enough to know about all sorts of stuff, so why not the best time to start a war?"

"But what if he keeps deciding it's not time yet?"

"Eh, I can wait. Besides, if he waits too long, I'm sure Asriel will just do it."

Asriel's heart skipped a beat. The door swam in front of him.

"You do remember how upset he got when he gave me a bloody nose in training, right? Why would he ever do it?"

"Because he'll do anything for us Monsters! Ever since we've known him, he's gone out of his way to help anyone who asks, and offer it even if they don't. It's really cool he does it, honestly I'd get impatient if it were me. If the people yearn for war, I know he'll lead us."

"What if he says no?"

"When has he ever said no? He's made suggestions and stuff, but have you ever seen him put his foot down?"

"Well he broke up the fight we had over Kitty."

"Yeah, but that was us being stupid teenagers! And he said it himself, we'll have to rely on each other. Monsters fighting each other is pointless, when it's the humans we have to face when we're back on the surface."

"I guess so..."

"Exactly. That's why I wanna keep training. I wanna be ready to see the sun!"

Asriel left the gloves in front of the door, and headed straight home.


	7. Final Exam

The family sat together at the dinner table like always. Their dinner was hardly touched however.

"I am shocked, my son." said Toriel. "There have always been those eager to leave the Underground, but I had always thought we understood the perils of the attempt. It is why we delegated the decision to your Father."

"I think," Asriel wasn't interested much in this part of the conversation, but continued it out of duty, "it's harder for us younger monsters to really appreciate it. You've fought humans and you know what it means. What it costs. All we've heard are stories. It's hard when you haven't experienced it, when you..." he thought of Chara's photo, "...can't put a face to them, one way or the other."

Toriel studied her fork for a moment. "I had not considered that. I suppose it is a pitfall of age. We sometimes think of the youth as a mere extension of ourselves instead of people with their own hopes and dreams."

"Have you heard anything like this, Dad?"

Asgore stroked his beard and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, there are always hotheads. Not counting Grillby, of course. It usually doesn't take much to smooth it over. Though now you mention it, there have been more of the younger monsters asking about the barrier. They never mention war - I don't think they understand the full implications of what they're asking me - but it may be we have inadvertently stoked cabin fever."

"And how do you deal with them?"

"How I dealt with their parents. I said no. Once or twice I said the humans would probably defeat us. It seemed to defuse the situation."

"And they listened, just like that?"

"Well, being King has its advantages."

They were getting close to what was troubling Asriel, even more than the fact there were those who desperately wanted the King's Final Duty to be enacted. But it would be best to fully discuss the political issue before turning to personal matters.

"What about Rovie's concern about the budget? I get we don't have to make a big fuss and worry everyone, but should we see if there's anything to it?"

"Councilor Rovie indeed noted concerns about the Core Enhancement's budget overrun recently." said Toriel. "If I recall, she said it was enough to create a sixth Core section, or a variety of infrastructure projects like a proper road to Home and the Ruins from Snowdin. Your father and I consulted with Doctor Gaster, and he assured us it was merely some unforeseen complications in the process of up scaling his prototype, meaning it was more expensive than projected. A similar issue arose with the original Core, so I paid it no heed."

"If he still had the prototype, maybe he could explain it to us," mused Asriel, "but he told me he dismantled it."

"Hmm. Well perhaps I could get Roger to look at the receipts to truly put this to bed. Uh, quietly of course, Tori, we don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill."

Toriel nodded approvingly. However as she watched Asriel continue to play with his food, her lips pursed.

"Asriel, I think you are putting too much weight on the possibility of agitation for war. The Royal position is clearly understood, and since you have made your own intentions clear to us, it is unlikely to shift."

"It... it's not that, Mom. I know they'll listen to Dad. After all, he's the best king we've ever had."

In spite of his son's troubles, Asgore smiled.

"Then what else is troubling you?"

"I don't know... that's a lie, yes I do... It's me."

Asgore looked puzzled, while Toriel's concern grew.

"Dohj just seemed so confident. Even if Dad holds firm until the day he dies, he thinks it's a given I'll issue the order. And not because he thinks I'm eager to break the barrier or fight humans or whatever. I almost wish that was the case, it would have been easier to set him straight. He's been there for a lot of my Royal Career, and all he's seen me do is offer help when asked, or offer help unaided, and he thinks I'm a pushover, that enough pressure and I'd do anything for them."

Toriel frowned a little and regarded her son through her glasses. "My son, I hope that comment has not made you regret your decisions. You have offered nothing but kindness to the Underground."

"Don't worry, I don't regret that," he said, "but I think something is missing. We've run this kingdom so well, there are precious few times where Dad has had to really step in and push for something. He has the gravitas to do that, but I've never had to. And there are only two ways for me to prove I can do it to everyone. Either I start issuing arbitrary orders, or a crisis comes up that-"

" _Asriel!_ " cried Toriel. "Surely you do not wish such a thing?!"

Asriel bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. Cruel, even, to talk about it. It's just, since this afternoon, I'm second-guessing myself. Am I actually a pushover? I don't want to find out too late."

"You're not."

They turned to Asgore. He was regarding his son not unlike Toriel often did.

"You are not a pushover, son. You didn't help the Underground because you felt pressured to. You did it because you decided to. Because you resolved to. Because you care about the people. I've seen you settle countless squabbles and arguments, and never wavered in your decision. Unless it's one I had you overturn." A chuckle. "You've stepped up in council meetings to propose amendments and solutions. When we revealed my Final Duty, you stopped our argument and had already pledged yourself to your own approach to the problem. Do you still stand by your words that night?"

He thought for a moment. Then it was his turn to have an expression similar to his mother's. "Yes, I do."

"There we are. You're right that with the kingdom at peace, you've never really had to flash your mettle. That doesn't mean it isn't there. If you face such baseless calls for war, that mettle will serve you well."

Asriel's eyes were overbright, but with a deep breath it didn't go farther than that. "I... I hope you're right."

"I know he is." said Toriel, squeezing Asgore's hand. "After all, just because his heart is not made of _metal_ , it does not mean it does not have _mettle_."

Father and Son gripped their muzzles with a groan as Toriel started laughing.

Despite the light hearted conclusion to the discussion, much like the night he learned of the Final Duty Asriel lay awake thinking about the day. His parents' faith in his judgement and resolve was reassuring, but if anyone was to offer such a view it would be them. He almost wanted a different opinion. And though he felt terrible for it, a part of him still wanted an opportunity.

As he finally drifted off, his mother's voice spoke in his head. _"Be careful what you wish for."_ These were wise words.

* * *

It was a few days later. Asriel had kept himself busy by helping his mother with paperwork. He normally found this boring, even though he was pretty good at it, but even Asgore took the occasional break from surrounding himself with people, so he felt overdue for one. It also gave him an excuse not to talk to Dohj and Bearnard. The last time this happened Leonard had turned up with a message from them asking where he was, and then the Royal Phone started ringing two hours after he got the message because he hadn't replied yet. Had they guessed he overheard them? He didn't know how to feel if they had.

That morning Asgore and Toriel had left the house for a meeting with the Royal Financier. This left Asriel in a rare situation: At home, alone, with nothing to do. It had been a while. He thumbed through a couple of books on Toriel's bookshelf, but he found he couldn't commit to any of them. One was a history book about an ancient human empire, and how an emperor named Aurelian had marched on the city of Palmyra and never mind, he had no context to appreciate it. The books suggested to him maybe he should inspect the latest haul from the Garbage heap, but that had been two days ago and would mostly be sorted. The hydraponics was mostly self-running now, so paying it a visit would probably not yield any results. He grabbed pencil and paper and tried to sketch something, but abandoned the attempt after a rough rectangle. In his restlessness, he did nothing.

His parents weren't still back by lunchtime. Roger was good at getting to the point, so this was unusual. Maybe those receipts had been unusually detailed. Oh well, this would be an opportunity to have an unhealthy lunch by taking a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie from the fridge. He had just finished it when there was a knock on the door. Well, he'd better answer in case Leonard had brought a message.

"Hey, champ. Can we come in?"

It was Bearnard and Dohj. Despite being taller than both of them now and his own complicated feelings, his default response seemed best.

"Howdy! Come in! Do you want some pie?"

"No thanks."

He led them into the living room. Bearnard took his Father's seat and filled it admirably. Dohj took his Mother's and filled it rather less so. Absently Asriel wondered if his father's stocky frame was part of his success, while he appeared to take after his mother. This never bothered him before, but with his own self-doubt flaring it was a nagging thought. His guests didn't speak. What brought them here? Had Asgore talked to Rovie talked to Dohj? Had they deduced they had been overheard? Or were they completely ignorant and perhaps had talked themselves into probing where he stood? Best to make the first move.

"So," he said, not a hint of doubt in his tone, "what can I do for you guys?"

He still couldn't get a read on their expression. Finally, Dohj leaned forward.

"Asriel-"

A thud, a deafening thud, seemed to come from everywhere. Dohj was cut off. Dust fell from the ceiling as the house trembled slightly, and Asriel heard his earlier dishes clatter.

And then the house really shook.

Earthquakes were pretty rare within Mount Ebott, but not unheard of. Toriel had ensured the schools drill for preparation at least once a year. In her own child and his friends, this paid off. The three laid managed to make their way into the front yard and then lie down. But just as they did, the tremor stopped.

An earthquake of that force didn't start and stop so abruptly after fifteen seconds. Something else had happened. Getting up again, he opted to head for the Royal Guards barracks-

The second omen arrived. A great gust of wind blew right through them, threatening to bowl them over. There was something in this wind. It reminded him of his father taking charge, of his mother glaring at a lie of omission, of... resolve. Or was that the word? And then, like the quake, it stopped instantly. It had come from the direction of New Home, so the next step was obvious.

"Come on."

There didn't seem to be much damage as they jogged, though the streets were crowded, a mixture of not wanting to go back inside in case an aftershock struck, and trying to learn what was going on. There were a few injuries, but they were light enough, so Asriel barely had to stop to heal them.

"Prince Asriel!"

"Argie, what's happened?"

"Some sort of... I don't even know. At the Royal Laboratories. I think the King and Queen-"

He didn't hear another word as he sprinted. Argie soon caught up, but Bearnard and Dohj had trouble keeping pace.

* * *

Flashbacks of the Core Apartments greeted him. The labs were pretty modest above ground, but those two stories were mostly for paperwork. The real facility was underneath street level. And now covered in the wreckage of the admin levels. Smaller monsters stood atop it taking one or two pieces off at a time. There was a group of healers, but they were getting swamped by passers-by. A few Royal Guards were there, but they had defaulted to trying to cordon off the area. Woshington was there too. The small monsters had apparently been clearing wreckage at the behest of the first person with authority to arrive. This was a waste of time.

" _ **EVERYONE!!!**_ "

A few monsters thought Asgore had arrived to take charge, and were surprised to look round and find him with so little hair. And not as broad as they remembered.

"Um, howdy." No no no, start again. "Tell me quickly, where are the King and Queen?"

A guard piped up. "We last saw them enter the Royal Scientist's lab."

Okay, time to act. "Listen! We need to organise. Everyone who-"

"Excuse me, Prince Asriel," came a snooty gargle, "I was organising them before you interrupted." Woshington appeared to have enjoyed being in charge and was reluctant to give it up.

"And I appreciate that, Councillor. Now if you could help me-"

"I'm afraid you forget yourself, Prince. The councillors for a district have final say in an emergency. Only the King can overrule me."

Was he really doing this now? "If we don't hurry, I'll soon have the power to overrule you, and I'm not in a hurry to get it!"

A watery sniff of disbelief. "I'm sorry, Prince. We cannot have the rule of law go out the window in an emergency. It's what separates us from humans."

Recalling Chara's photograph fuelled his stab of annoyance.

"Fine." He said, with steel his mother would be proud of. He cleared his throat. "As the whereabouts of the King and Queen, and their status, cannot be reliably established at this time, according to the Succession Act we must assume they are incapacitated. As formal heir to the throne, I hereby invoke the Regency Charter."

There was excited chatter. Woshington was unphased by the challenge.

"Prince, the Regency Charter requires you be nominated and seconded by three lead councillors. And I'm not convinced you are-"

The impending affront to Asriel's dignity was interrupted by a voice from the crowd. "I, Councillor Ocule, lead Councillor of the Ruins, nominate Prince Asriel to assume the office of Regent."

"Bad card to play when the council was in session before the earthquake..." whispered Argie.

"Alright, that's one, but I'm still not-"

"I, Councillor H-Hamburg, lead Councillor of the C-Core, second the n-nomination. Um, s-sorry."

Woshington looked over at him. Asriel didn't see his expression, but Hamburg withered under it. To his credit he didn't retract his statement. Woshington didn't even get a chance to argue this down, as a leathery hand shoved a Royal Guard aside.

"I, Gerson, acting lead Councillor of Waterfall, also second the nomination. Knock 'em dead, kiddo!"

"...and he really should have paid attention to who was covering for him in Waterfall. The King got him to agree to it this morning."

And there it was. Woshington looked particularly foul, but nobody backed him up. Asriel prepared to endure some legal technicality about Gerson's endorsement while a small seed of panic threatened to blossom, but mercifully it never came.

"Very well, Prince Regent." He at least knew to be magnanimous in his contempt. "It's your call now."

On any other day he might have taken a moment to let it sink in. But there was no time.

"Okay!" He commanded. "First of all, anyone who is not injured, get clear of the area. Return home if you don't plan to help. Healers, assemble over there. Councillors, please make arrangements to get blankets and temporary bedding assembled. After which I suggest you return to your districts and see if the earthquake caused any damage. I and the Royal Guard can handle this now. Anyone who only has cuts or scratches, do not approach the healers right now! Make priority for those with broken limbs and other serious injuries. Is there anyone who can use barrier magic?"

Several hands and a few tentacles and wings rose into the air.

"Good. Split up into two squads. Those damaged buildings near the lab site, use your barriers to keep them supported. You lot on the wreckage, I want you to go into those nearby buildings and check that nobody's inside or hurt. Dohj, you're in charge of them."

"Asriel, are you sure you shouldn't-"

"This isn't a request, Dohj. Go! Royal Guards, those larger chunks of masonry, start clearing them. Bearnard, go help them. Argie, round up blue magic users into a squad and have them converge on me."

"And what will we do, sir?"

Lead by example. "This!" With a wave of his hand, several medium sized pieces of debris rose. He moved them aside. The rumble of his efforts appeared to be the starting whistle for everyone to move.

For a few minutes as the bystanders flowed away from the scene, Asriel and the barrier casters appeared to be the only ones doing anything. He cut an impressive figure, focusing on the centre of the pile, where he knew the stairs to the lower levels resided. At last however, others approached. The Royal Guards clearing away the heavier parts of the building. Dohj and his squad reported the neighbouring buildings clean after lifting a few monsters with minor injuries out, so they moved their focus to extracting anyone trapped in the wreckage as the Guards and Asriel's blue squad moved it aside. More of the Guards arrived, but as they had already made significant progress, Asriel had them keep order around the medics and help set up the bedding the councillors had procured. Soon every regular employee in the admin section was accounted for, thankfully all alive.

Before long, the wreckage was cleared so you could walk from where the front door had been to where the stairs were. Only instead of stairs was a large metal slab. It must have slid into place when whatever happened was detected. Asriel could hear faint thumping. Someone was trying to signal they were down there. The slab must have been thick.

"Bearnard, can you reply?"

With a nod, Bearnard adopted a stance not unlike his father, and with a flash his orange poleaxe appeared. With the flat end of the axe he brought it down with three tremendous strikes. The faint thumping stopped. Asriel raised his hand and the slab turned blue. It didn't want to budge though. Argie caught on, and signaled the rest of the squad to join in. There was a heavy groan as the slab started to move. Just enough room for Bearnard to slip his poleaxe in and use it like a lever. Two other guards helped him pull. Suddenly, whatever mechanism kept the slab in place snapped, and it slid away with a bang, revealing the stairs. And also...

"Asriel!"

Toriel walked up the stairs, carrying a whimsum in a lab coat in her hands. Her clothes were badly torn and her spectacles were missing, but otherwise she looked fine. Such were the benefits of healing magic. Four more scientists and support staff emerged behind her. Asriel wanted to hug her, but priorities kept him focused.

"Are you alright? Where's Dad?"

"I, I am not sure. We wanted to speak with Doctor Gaster about... about budget issues. He went on ahead while Professor Pyros," she gestured at the vulkin, "wanted to speak to me about a project she was thinking of. And then there was a noise and a tremendous wind and parts of the corridor collapsed, and I was afraid to use my magic to clear any further in case it caused further collapses."

"Good call. This is gonna take precision. Can you take charge up here?" She nodded. "Good. The medics could use your skills. Looks like you've got practice."

She looked on the verge of begging him not to go, but a glance at the surprisingly ordered operation going on in the square seemed to be reassurance enough. "Be careful, my son."

"You know me." He grinned. "Okay, Argie, Blue Squad, Barrier Squad One, we're going down! Dohj, take your squad and follow behind us, check for casualties! If we get cut off, call for Bearnard and the Guards."

* * *

There was something in the facility now. It reminded him of the wind earlier, that feeling of resolve. He felt like he would need it.

The first few blockages were easy. Blue Squad shifted the rocks while the Barrier Squad made sure the ceiling didn't collapse. There were a several monsters trapped by these blockages, but also one pile of dust. Shoving his fears to the back of his mind, he gave them a quick "howdy" and a thumbs up, but otherwise left them for Dohj to recover. The ceiling became less stable as they descended a level. One or two of Barrier Squad had to stay behind to ensure it didn't collapse behind them. If this was ground zero of whatever happened, the lab was in surprisingly good shape, almost like it was designed to contain it.

The first room on the lower level contained Quentin and a loox, but also more dust. Quentin kept staring at it, and with a dull thud, Asriel realised there was no sign of Smaurtin. No time to think about it, focus on getting everyone out. Asriel he signalled to Dohj, who despatched some of his squad to carry the survivors back to the square. It felt like the chances of survival were diminishing. And their ability to progress may be hindered as more barrier casters tried to keep the ceilings steady.

The next level had nobody. Only more dust. He was beginning to dread going any further, but focusing on the mechanical task of clearing blockages was a great way to evade the terror clawing at his brain. Eventually, at the end of this corridor, would be the stairs down to Gaster's office and lab. The squad cleared what seemed to be the final blockage, and then in spite of himself, Asriel ran forward.

A rumbling crash. He hadn't let the barrier squad support the ceiling, and another cave-in was his reward. There were shouts, so he gave a quick reply of "I'm okay! Clear this one too!" Before deciding to head down the last flight of stairs.

He stood before a metal slab not unlike the one at the stairs, covering the door. Totally alone, he doubted he could pry it open. Time for another approach. With a quick gesture his saber appeared, and with a swing he was able to cut through the slab. A few more slashes and it came apart, allowing him to step into the room.

The room was devoid of desks or paperwork. The only sign that it was not also a laboratory was the large bookcase. The left hand wall had been damaged, revealing a large space behind it. Within the space there was an enormous aparatus, and with a start he recognised it as the Core Prototype, but heavily modified and expanded. At the far end of the room was the cylindrical machine he'd asked Gaster about. It looked more complete, but also more ruined. The chest-high cavity had blown outwards and was scorched black, and smoke from it rendered the air foul and acrid. A slender black-clad figure stood unsteadily in the center of the room, as though he had just woken up. Asriel couldn't quite see, but Doctor Gaster appeared to be looking down at his hands. When he spoke, his voice was strange and ethereal.

"I should be...? Of course. The DT. So this is what it feels like..." His posture changed suddenly, like he just remembered something. "Prince Asriel."

"How-?"

"Your father. Behind you and to the right. Hurry. He's almost-"

Wheeling around, he found the great body. He had been slammed against the wall by the force of Gaster's machine failing. His right leg and arm looked twisted, and the tip of his right horn had snapped off. There were a lot of smaller injuries too. Asriel didn't stop to think. He brought the spell he had used on Whilliam and Whilbur to his hands and poured everything into it. There was a horrible few seconds where although the minor cuts had healed, Asgore did not move... then he jerked upright, eyes wide, gasping deeply.

"Dad!"

"Asriel, what-?"

"Hold still." He was working on Asgore's leg, as being able to at least stand would be vital to get out of here.

"None of us have much time." said Gaster, turning to face them. They both looked shocked. His hands had curious holes in them. His skull appeared to be cracked, but it was more like a hot knife had carved into butter. His face was furiously concentrating, but also shifting around the edges, as if it took flexing a muscle to keep the form he had. Something about how the blackness that was once his clothes was swirling around his feet was unsettling.

"I apologise if I am blunt, I've had to say this a few times. I know there are dead. I accept full responsibility, it was my experiment that caused it. Focus on his shin first."

"Huh? Oh!" Asriel obeyed.

"Majesty, you came down here to confront me about embezzlement. I admit it. The sixth Core I concealed was the end product."

"But... but why?" Asgore sounded unsteady.

"To harness enough power to..." he focused for a moment, like he was trying to lift a house with blue magic, "...create an artificial soul. To break the barrier without murder. His thigh now."

"Is... is that possible-?"

"In theory. No, not theory anymore. But it worked too well. There is a force humans can harness in quantities that monsters cannot cope with. My artificial soul generated too much. It overloaded just as you arrived. I got in the way, took the brunt of it. That's why you are alive. You have time to set his arm."

"Can you help us out?"

"No. I am on borrowed time as it is. The blast... killed me. But I absorbed enough of the force to endure. I shall not last long. I must shut down this Core, or its explosion shall destroy half of New Home. And there are other experiments. I've dabbled in space and time. The consequences could be catastrophic if they are not contained. Go now."

"But what if-?"

" _Now!_ The force lingers here. It should disappear from your bodies if you get clear of it soon, but stay too long and you... you do not wish to know. Get everyone out, leave this place for at least three months before coming down again. That should give it time to dissipate. Go now, or another cave-in will keep you here too long."

"How do you know that?"

He didn't answer the question. "Tell their families I am sorry. But I beg you, keep this quiet otherwise. Tampering with souls is too dangerous down here. Now go!"

Asriel helped his father to his feet. He had a limp. Turning their backs on the figure as he glided over to the Core module, Asgore put his arm around Asriel and they slowly made their way up the stairs. Gaster had been right, the ceiling rumbled menacingly.

"I've got the King! Can you clear this?"

Excited chatter. "Is Gaster there?"

"He... didn't make it. We need to get topside. Can you shift the blockage?"

"Not enough barrier casters to guarantee it stays clear."

Asgore released his grip on his son. "E-everyone, Blue and Barrier, focus on holding the ceiling up!"

"Yes, sire!"

"Son, you... may want to stand clear as well."

"Dad, what-?"

Like that day in the cavern, a red flash appeared, and Asgore thrust his trident at the blockage. Asriel could feel the heat as the great force crashed into the wreckage and incinerated it. For a second Asgore stood as in his prime, before his injured leg buckled and the trident faded before it even hit the floor. Asriel quickly ducked under him and helped him to his feet again. There were more footsteps. Bearnard and the remaining guards had arrived. They scooted past the squads and gathered round the two. Asriel soon found himself supporting his father's left shoulder as five others helped carry his body.

With all the hard work done, carrying Asgore clear of the labs was surprisingly easy. The feeling of resolve kept their progress steady, but Asriel began to feel like it might overwhelm him, and maybe he understood what Doctor Gaster had been talking about. The rumblings as the corridors they had been in caved in once more didn't help. But before long. They were in the fresh air of the square. All eyes were focused on them as they moved the King to the middle.

" _Asgore!_ "

Toriel took charge now. With most of the injured having been patched up thanks to her ministering, she could focus on the last survivor. Most of the beds were for smaller monsters, so they moved three abreast and gently laid him down on them. Only then did she allow tears to flow as she hugged her husband and poured magic into him to stabilize him further. Once she was satisfied, she wheeled on Asriel and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, my son. Thank you!"

He partly returned the hug, but he didn't feel like it. But before he say anything, there was a short sharp tremor beneath their feet. There was murmuring and cries from the street.

"What-?"

Wheeling around, he thought he heard something coming from the stairs they'd just come up. A howling wind.

"Everyone, get back!"

His blue squad actually flung smaller monsters clear. Meanwhile he focused on a pile of debris near the stair way and shifted it so it blocked up the entrance. Three seconds later, another wind with that hint of resolve enveloped everyone present. Silence reigned for what seemed like ages.

"Asriel!" cried Toriel, hugging him again, "are you alright?"

It was threatening to overwhelm him again. He didn't want to know what might have happened if he had been hit with a full blast. But he couldn't let it get to him. Everyone needed him. He had to fulfil his duty.

"I... I'll be fine, Mom." He returned her hug much more enthusiastically. "I should examine the Underground, make sure everyone else is alright."

She didn't want him to go, but she knew the lost cause from his expression. "Of, of course. I shall tend to these wounds, and then bring your father home."

He set out for the Core district and Hotland.

* * *

Being ground zero, New Home had got the worst of the quake, but it had been felt everywhere. The councillors had spread word of his taking charge, so wherever he arrived they were ready to defer to him. Not that there was any need, by the time he arrived they mostly had things well in hand. They were grateful for his presence however. As were ordinary monsters. His tour felt surprisingly quick, but it was still late at night by the time he reached his house, the front door flanked by Royal Guards who saluted him. That odd feeling of resolve had lessened in the meantime, and although it had served him well that day, he was glad it passed.

His parents were in their bedroom. He gently opened the door and was caught in a hug from his mother. Looking over her shoulder, Asgore was asleep, and covered in bandages.

"What news, Asriel?"

"Well, damage is surprisingly light. Gaster's experiment seemed pretty focused on the lab. However it looks like twelve people died, including Doctor Gaster himself. We can't even retrieve their dust, it's too dangerous down there. I had to order the entrance covered up with more debris. I can explain in the morning. Still, we were able to rescue forty others."

"And I so am proud of you for doing so. You have proven yourself equal to the task of leading the Underground."

He wasn't sure about that. "How's Dad?"

"He will recover for the most part. I doubt his horn will regrow, and unfortunately whatever the effects of what happened down there, I cannot properly set his leg. I believe he will have a limp from now on. It is remarkable you managed to heal it up as well as you did. Asriel?"

He had silently walked over to his peaceful father as she spoke. His head was bowed.

"My son, there was nothing more you could have done. None of us knew about the experiment until we re-examined the budget. You cannot have anticipated it."

"It's not that."

"Then, what is wrong?"

"What I said the other day. I was doubting myself and I wondered when I could get an opportunity to prove myself-"

"Asriel-"

"And I get the chance and it comes at the cost of twelve people including our best scientist and my father's health-"

"Asriel!" She advanced on him and soon they hugged again. "You did not cause this to happen. That is irrational."

"I... I know. But I can't help it."

His hand had been dangling by his side when someone grasped it. They broke apart as the patient woke up.

"Howdy, Son. Not... not a bad trial run..."

Tears flowing like they had once done for Whilbur, Asriel collapsed on his father's chest, apologising for things he couldn't have been responsible for. They just let him work through it.

* * *

Even though Toriel was perfectly fine, she was spending all her time tending to Asgore as he recovered. Therefore the next day the Council voted to uphold Asriel's Regency until the King felt ready to resume his duties. Woshington didn't even argue the point. Perhaps he had finally accepted that someone with only two digits in their age could do something worthwhile. Or judging by the glances he shot at Gerson, there had been more threats of embarrassing childhood stories.

His first order after the meeting broke up was to summon the Royal Guard, as well as invite Bearnard and Dohj, to a military assessment meeting, both to understand the monsters' general position and make his own position understood. Two intelligence agents, semi-permanent residents of the garbage studying humanity's leftovers, explained that even with their limited knowledge of the outside world everything suggested humans would have the upper hand by sheer number alone. Asriel accepted their take and declared that, when it was time, he had no intention of declaring war. He couldn't declare war right then anyway, as that was one of the few powers denied to a Regent, but he felt laying out his stall with plenty of notice was the right move. Bearnard and Dohj went along with it without complaint. After all, yesterday proved he knew what he was doing.

The next few months were strange. All three Dreemurrs agreed the actual nature of Gaster's experiment would be an Official Secret, but it was hard to come up with a cover story. There were no fun funerals to attend this time, with their remains currently sealed in the lab. Their families, and those of the survivors, were grateful for everything he had done. As time passed, he began to believe it.

As senior survivor, Professor Pyros had been named interim Royal Scientist, though she didn't have much to work with while a site for a new lab was sought. It was her grim assessment that helped underline the costs of what had happened. Perhaps notes and books could be recovered in a few months, but most projects would have to start again, if at all. And their manpower had suffered badly. It would be a long time before they were back up to speed in their pace of research, unless the humans happened to drop something particularly juicy.

Other than cleanup and repairs, Asriel found himself doing what Asgore always did. Touring the Kingdom and helping anyone who asked. It felt strange knowing he was the only member of his family out there right now. Like he was jumping a chasm without a net. The jump didn't bother him however. He knew he could jump farther if he had to.

He missed his free time, precious little he had of it before this. He even gained a little understanding for Woshington, as anyone willing to do this so he didn't have to couldn't be all bad. He pondered exploring administrative reforms to prevent the king having to do everything, but when he had broached it with Asgore he forbade it while he still lived. Doing everything was the best way to get to know people after all. Looked like he was on the hook for this, and Asgore still had plenty of life ahead of him.

After four months, he supervised the cleanup of the lab site. The dust of the victims was finally recovered, though it had been difficult to confirm which was which. Eventually the way to Gaster's office was cleared, and the curious thing was there was no dust. And most of the strange machines that were there that day were gone. Not like they had exploded, more like they never were. The bookcase was perfectly intact, miraculously. Asriel eyed _Recent Innovations in Agricultural Techniques_ ', and with a pang thought of Smaurtin.

In the meantime, the last survivor was making a solid recovery. Asgore could walk without asisstance, but he did limp, and would often summon a less pointy form of his trident to use as a walking stick. Toriel was trying to teach him how to make it more appropriately shaped and sized for that purpose. Asriel suggested hiring a carpenter to make a wooden one, but both seemed too stubborn to entertain the notion.

A week or so after clearing out the labs there was, well, officially it was a feast, but really it was a small dinner party with the Dreemurrs, the lead councillors, the collective ministry and a few friends. Asgore had announced his intent to resume his duties, so this celebrated the return of the King, and honoured Asriel for his good work as Regent. Dohj had teased him about losing his power, but he honestly didn't mind. He'd have to take it again one day, but hopefully on happier terms.

When the party broke up, Asriel formally delegated his Mother as his representative should anything happen before tomorrow ("Of course you can have some free time, dear, you should have asked earlier."), and really felt the need to be alone. Something about his isolated childhood meant some quiet time was really the way to unwind. And he knew where he wanted to go.

As he approached the very end of the Ruins, it seemed to glow, much brighter than he remembered. Sure enough, it was almost exactly as he had seen it the very first time, except the sunlight now shone down on a full bed of flowers that, despite his not spending nearly enough time tending to them, looked as vibrant as ever. They really were survivors. Inspecting the ceiling hole, he supposed that the earthquake may have shook the rocks blocking the cave entrance clear. Well that was one positive benefit. The bugs of the surface seemed to agree, as the walls seemed to shimmer once again with their presence.

Like the first time, he sat next to his drawings, still going strong after more a decades. Like the first time he was torn between the floor and the ceiling, and like the first time, the ceiling won. And like the first time, the peaceful sunlight made him feel... tired...

And like the first time, a thud jerked him awake.

Bleating with surprise, he looked around wildly, before collecting himself and concluding nobody was there. Except, a package in rainbow paper lay on the ground not far from him.

He examined it for a long time. There was a little name tag on it, with his name. He couldn't bear the suspense any longer and tore it open. Two sheets of paper fell to the ground, but his eyes were on the brand new looking book. _Planets, Moons and Stars_.

He flicked through it. Diagrams of the planets of the solar system, what stars apparently looked like - they were like giant balls of fire? Weird - and some sort of supplement that unfolded into a map of the night sky. He was a child again, gazing at it in abject wonder. It took a while to remember the pieces of paper.

The first was another drawing. Done in pencil this time, it was another drawing of him as a child, green sweater and all. The drawer had apparently gotten a lot of practice, as it looked a lot more realistic. The second was a letter.

_Hi Asriel,_

_Thought you might like a book like this, but the way was blocked when I tried to talk to you about it. That was my fault by the way. Sorry about that. Looks like that problem's solved. Hope to see you soon._

_Chara_

_PS. Really soon. Look up!_

He did. he blinked several times as he registered what, or who, he was seeing. Her smile was broader now, and her eyes less conflicted, if still reserved.

All the diplomatic training he did with his mother took over. He stood up to his full height. He adopted the posture. He kept his hands in a neutral position. He tried really hard to ignore his twitching tail. And he selected the best greeting for this momentous occasion.

"Um, h-howdy!"

She laughed.


	8. Graduation

"I'm just saying, Your Majesty, the Lead Councillor for Home is asking quite a lot for direct foresting rights in the woods."

The King took a long drink from his hot chocolate. "Councillor Dohj, if you thought Bearnard was asking too much, why not talk to him directly?"

"I tried to, but he's been dodging my calls. I think he wants you to back him up."

"Oh? Well as Lead Councillor for Snowdin, you do know you can grant his request, but only if he personally chops down the trees and brings them in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, look it up. Article Four, Paragraph Two of the Home District Boundaries Act 20XX. And maybe that will teach him to actually give me a call and argue his position instead of just sending me a letter."

"Ha ha, yeah. Thanks, Champ."

"No problem. Now excuse me, I have to greet the new ambassador."

Asriel gently pet the councillor, then got up and stepped out into the icy street, his cloak flowing behind him.

Many years had passed. Asgore had resumed the responsibilities of King as planned, and the Underground had a great party to celebrate. However by the time Asriel finally matched him in height, if not breadth, his active contributions had begun to dwindle, partly at Toriel's insistence, so Asriel had been picking up the slack a lot more gradually than he'd had to as Regent. This process was so slow nobody had realised, until the only real decision Asgore reserved for himself was the Final Duty. And then finally, admitting he had only held on so long out of sentimentality, Asgore decided to abdicate fully. If not for his injuries he could probably have gone another twenty years and handed over responsibilities even more slowly, but the Queen had urged him not to push his luck. So Asriel had become King at last. And right as significant developments in their situation were coming about.

Truth be told, the appointment he talked to Dohj about was not for another few hours. But he had refined the art of planning for unexpected distractions.

"Aaron, you know that creeps her out, stop flexing."

"I've got your other bag, ma'am. Maybe you should consider planning your trips to the store so you don't have to carry everything at once."

"Come on, Blooky, _again_?!"

"I'm not selling my cloak, Temmie, it's a family heirloom. Yes, I suppose I'll regret it."

"You want mageweed?! Because that's how you get mageweed!"

"There's your ball back, kids. Maybe next time you'll listen to your parents when they say not to use blue magic on it."

The kids waved at him and ran in the direction of the water channels. Asriel continued in peace for a while, but halting outside Smaurtin Fields. Looking past the squat statue he really needed to get fixed up, he saw a wall of green through the glass in the door. Looked like a good harvest this year.

" **NYAH!** "

Without looking around, a barrier flashed into existance. The blue spear bounced off it with a benign ping.

"Howdy, Undyne!"

The blue fish bared her razor teeth in a grin. "Dammit, you're on your toes today! You got time for a quick round of training?"

"Sorry, I have an appointment. You can come round for tea after it though."

"Nah, I got plans with Alph later."

"Fair enough. Maybe we can spar at the weekend."

"Hell yeah! Now you've taught me everything you know, I gotta start teaching you!"

He allowed a grin to play on his muzzle. "You'll definitely live up to the legacy of Argie, Undyne. Golly, you should have seen him. Oh, that reminds me, how's Grandma Sally?"

"Hah! She's started hitting on Gerson!"

His furry eyebrows arched. "Really?"

"Yeah! Said she appreciates his 'inner beauty'. I think she's losing it, really."

He sniffed in amusement. "Well, tastes change as you become more experienced."

"You're not that much younger than her, your Majesty."

"Aw, come on, I'm not even a hundred yet!"

"Fuhuhuhuhu! Well, I'll let her know you're interested," she joked, ", but if you're not fighting me then I'm heading to the barracks to drill the new recruits. Later, Asriel!"

Even with the time he had factored in to have such conversations, the meeting wasn't far off by the time he reached the castle, but he had to check the signal. Walking through the throne room, where only his mother's old throne sat, as he did not look dignified in Asgore's broad chair, he continued down the stony passage to the Barrier cavern. There a complex machine stood, with several large cables trailing back through the passage, with a yellow lizard hard at work on it. She hadn't noticed him.

"Howdy!"

"Oh, King Asriel! H-hello."

He gave a small tip of the head. "Doctor Alphys. So is everything okay?"

She seemed more comfortable talking about her work. "It should be. The signal looks stable. If we can get enough components to build a second one, we could properly integrate the human networks with the undernet, get some real communication working. Not that the text-only version hasn't been a great success."

"Yeah, sorry about hogging the bandwidth. Diplomatic responsibilities and all that."

"Oh no sir, it's fine. You can go to your office and wait for them."

"Thanks again. Hey, you've been working on this all week. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Undyne's at the barracks if you want to surprise her."

The scales on her face turned orange, but she looked rather pleased all the same, and scurried away. He followed her back through the throne room, turned right where she turned left, and he finally reached the Royal Household. Down the corridor into what had been his classroom, and was now his private office. A tall desk had a laptop computer on it, facing a swivel chair. A large, now almost antique, chart of the stars of the night sky hung on one wall. On the other, photographs of him, his friends, his parents, those he had taken under his wing and two old drawings flanking a small photograph of a young human girl. He sat down, logged on and waited.

Before too long, he got a message notification. Clicking on it, the video chat started up. He was face to face with a young human man with brown hair and a suit he looked slightly uncomfortable in.

"Um," he began, a little unsure, but continued, "to his Royal Highness, the King of the Underground, I, the nominated ambassador from humanity, hereby present my credentials." He then proceeded to carefully display a bunch of paperwork for Asriel to inspect. Identification, qualifications, signed and countersigned recommendations from politicians, stuff like that. Asriel sat upright in his chair.

"I, Asriel Dreemurr, King of the Underground and Leader of all Monsters, hereby acknowledge your credentials, and formally accept you as ambassador to this Kingdom. I welcome you in spirit, if not in person. I have hopes we shall work closely together."

"Thank you, your Majesty. As first order of business, I would like to submit a formal request."

"Yes?"

"As per section eight of the Ebott Preliminaries, I formally request we suspend all required formalities in any communication between the King and the Ambassador until further notice."

"As King of the Underground, I formally accept your request."

"Finally." He loosened his tie. "Heya, Asriel."

"Howdy, Frisk!"

Asriel took off his crown and placed it on the desk. He then got up and took off his cloak to hang it up on a coathook. Frisk noticed his tail was twitching again. He then pulled off the sweater with the Delta Rune on it, revealing a plain purple t-shirt underneath, and sat back down at the laptop.

"I don't know why your mom insisted on all that garbage every time you want to talk to a new human."

"She has a very... old fashioned sense of diplomacy."

"Sometimes I miss the old back-channel talks."

"Me too, but we both know they're a pain to get to. Anyway, I knew they'd appoint you next. Congratulations!"

"You knew because you demanded it, right?"

"Frisk, I'm not in a position to demand. I just politely requested. A few times."

"Heh, that's more than Chara would have done."

His face drooped a little. "Yeah..."

On the last day of his Regency, Asriel had finally learned Chara's story. She didn't have a happy childhood. In fact it was rotten. He had been the first nice thing she remembered laying eyes on, and then he had been snatched from her by her own stupidity. Tripping over a vine and knocking some rocks over. This started a domino effect that led to the cave in. But not before she had given him a present and invited him to play. A tantalising new world closed off from her, she had eventually ran away from home and gotten mixed up in foster care. She never really had friends, and even when talking to Asriel she could be cantankerous. But the people she met in foster care had been nice, earnest and determined enough that her rather bleak view of humanity had improved somewhat under their patient influence.

She had gone on to study history and mythology at college, directly inspired by him and the question of how he came to be there. She had actually become quite the scholar for the history of monsters, though even as people began to accept what she was saying was true, she never tried to prove it directly. Until the earthquake. After hearing about it on the news, on a whim she had inspected the cave, saw the old drawings and planned to make a reacquaintance. Asriel remembered introducing his parents to her, and in spite of their argument over the Final Duty was surprised at how informal and friendly they were speaking to their first human in centuries.

Despite her loner nature, she had somehow ended up babysitting for her neighbours over the years. She would bond with the children over stories she could tell about monsters, especially the sweet innocent one she saw playing with bugs on the wall. The wonder in their eyes was why she took several of them to meet Asriel and his parents, and other monsters too over the years. Frisk had been her last, as her health had been failing. Asriel only saw them together once, after which Frisk visited alone or with the other now-grown-up kids. The penultimate child Chara had introduced, a rambunctious kid named Jimmy, had grown up to be a Lawyer, and he had represented the Monsters when it was time for formal diplomatic relations to be re-established. That's when the Ebott Preliminaries were agreed to. Not a final peace treaty. That could only be negotiated when the barrier was gone, and Asriel could sign it in person.

"I guess we should get down to business then, Frisk. How's Penny's research into the barrier coming on?"

"Really well! You'd be surprised at what the Large Hadron Collider can teach you about the nature of magic when you open your mind to it. She's confirmed humans could generate enough power to break it without using souls, but the aftermath would be pretty... radioactive."

"Ah, so the brute force plan's out."

"Afraid so. That being said she said how she detected some kind of resonance in its EM spectrum. She looked into it after figuring out the right frequency to transmit through it. And that loophole about a human-monster combination being enough to cross it. Magic studies are still in their infancy on the surface, but there are a few promising students, and Penny thinks some kind of pincer move, human magic and monster magic, cast in just the right way in the right spot, could create a positive feedback loop that allows the barrier to shake itself apart. She'd have to speak to your scientists to compare notes."

"I'll have Alphys join us whenever she's available. She's got a date tonight."

Frisk grinned. But it didn't last long. "And if that doesn't pan out, or it takes too long..." his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "There's a member of her team. He was in remission, but his cancer came back. He's not sure how long he has. Maybe a year or two."

Asriel's face drooped. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks. Anyway, he surprised us. He offered to... well, come down and join you."

The implications of this offer hung in the air for a while.

"No," said Asriel decisively, "it doesn't matter how freely offered, I can't accept it. I can't have any peace with humanity be built at anyone's expense. Please tell him to spend time with his family. He's welcome to meet me through this setup if he wants."

Frisk actually looked relieved at this. "I figured you'd pass. I'll pass your invitation on. But don't worry. I think we're close. Your parents will see the sun again. We're determined to make this work."

"Thank you, Frisk. Though my mother probably needs glasses to see it now." They laughed together.

"Meanwhile, my old job of social media manager hasn't been replaced yet, so I'm going to have to double dip for now."

"So as Ambassador, how do you think the last Q&A stream went?"

"Great! You looked really impressive on that throne, and when you showed off magic like rainbow fire and that cool sword we got a lot of positive feedback. I still think you should name your attacks."

"Alphys suggested that too. I'm not calling it a 'Chaos Saber' though, it sends the wrong message. And did we pick the right guest?"

"Oh, Papyrus? People loved him! Really earnest and sweet, a little goofy by our standards, but showing your goofy side doesn't hurt when you're trying to win people over. There was a lot of buzz when you had that desk set up for him and he showed us his cooking."

"Between you and me, his cooking is only for showing, not for eating."

"I think most of the audience got that. Still, they liked him. For next time, he said he had a brother?"

"Sans? I don't know if he'd be as photogenic. He's kinda laid back. Though sometimes he surprises you with a pun that has my mother in hysterics. What about Mettaton again?"

"Well," he shrugged, "some really liked him, but others thought he was a bit full of himself. He didn't try to show that Monsters aren't bad as much as show that Mettaton is amazing. I think he's an aquired taste. It would depend on the audience you build. Hey, I see that Jerry applied-"

"No. Not Jerry."

"Okay then. Maybe Gerson would like to tell some more stories?"

"I may need to remind him to be careful with the war stories, but that could work. I'll ask him when I'm next in Waterfall."

"Alright. Now the boring stuff: The Underground's application to join the UN as an observer nation was approved."

"Glad to hear that, even though all we can do is observe."

"I dunno, once you get enough bandwidth you could give a televised speech."

"In front of all those humans? Golly Frisk, you'd be lucky to get a bleat out of me."

"It'll fine. You handled agreeing to the preliminaries okay, and there were twenty people in the cave."

"Yeah, all I had to do was say 'okay' and 'that sounds fine'."

"Also, the Government has placed a hold on the land immediately surrounding Mount Ebott. If the gold you've shown us really is gold, you have first dibs at purchasing the land and building a settlement for monsters there once the barrier is broken."

"That's a relief, I was hoping that would be settled before we come up."

"Aaaand, I think that's everything. Oh, the components for the second transmitter should be delivered to the Ruins later this week. We may send down a third as well, just as a backup. I'll not be far away, if you need to contact me for anything."

"Alright then. Have a good evening, Frisk!"

"You too."

Asriel closed the connection, left his office and walked to the dining room. There his parents were. Asgore, whose hair was now nearly as white as his fur, sat on his old throne, which seemed to ease the pain in his leg. His mother sat in a regular chair. A cup of golden flower tea lay on the table. It shimmered blue as it zoomed into his hand.

"Howdy, folks."

"Hello, my son."

Sipping his tea, he looked at what they were watching. There was another laptop hooked to their large TV. The laptop was watching a stream from a webcam placed just outside the entrance to the barrier cavern. There was currently a glorious sunset just to the left of the distant city they could see.

"It... it is truly beautiful. To think we may have never seen it again."

"You'll see it again for real, I promise. We're working on it. And when the other transmitters get up and running, we can show this throughout the Underground. It's kinda selfish only we get this right now."

"We both know you're working on it, Asriel." said Asgore, resting his arm around Toriel. "And that's a good suggestion. In the meantime, Tori, how about we hold a tea party and let people see it?"

Toriel's fangs peaked through her smile. "A wonderful idea, but ultimately it is for the King to decide, Fluffybuns." They started nuzzling noses. Still reigning champions after all this time, though they'd faced stiff competition last year.

"Sure! We just need to be careful it doesn't clash with any diplomatic meetings. Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching it tonight. It's meant to be a full moon, that's always a treat. And there's a lunar eclipse in two months! But in the meantime, I thought I might try and draw the stars. It's been a while since I did that..."

**Author's Note:**

> Pastebin Version: https://pastebin.com/LrAyUB3V
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


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